HSBC Holdings PLC is set to reaffirm its position in Saudi Arabia with the takeover of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC’s local venture as lenders bet on the kingdom’s ambitious plans to transform its economy. In the country’s first bank merger in almost 20 years, HSBC affiliate Saudi British...

The U.N. special envoy to Syria warned Wednesday that a regime assault on the northern rebel-held area of Idlib would be "six times" more destructive than the battle to recapture Ghouta, which fell last month after years of siege. "If we see a Ghouta scenario in Idlib, this could be six...

Dozens of people have been killed in clashes between troops of Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland and its semi-autonomous region of Puntland, medical workers and military officials from both sides said Wednesday. Puntland and Somaliland have been engaged in conflict over the...

Israeli strikes on targets in Syria last week took out several Russian missile defense systems and raised questions about the viability of Moscow’s military equipment. Israeli fighter jets had targeted Iranian bases in retaliation for Iranian strikes on the Golan Heights, and they also...

Palestine on Wednesday recalled its ambassadors to four European states after diplomats from those states reportedly took part in celebrations marking the relocation of the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. “The [Palestinian] Foreign Affairs Ministry on Wednesday...

The Turkish army has set up its 12th observation point in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, the military announced on Wednesday. In its official Twitter account, Turkish Armed Forces said: "No. 11 Observation Point, which is the 12th in Idlib region, has been established. "...

Over 1,000 children have been injured by Israeli forces in the besieged Gaza Strip during demonstrations since March 30, according to UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Wednesday.  The UN body pointed out that some injuries had been severe and potentially life-altering, including...

The number of people displaced due to conflicts and violence reached nearly 12 million last year, almost double the figure of 6.9 million in 2016, a global report on internal displacement said Wednesday. "New displacement due to conflict and violence reached 11.8 million in 2017, almost...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- At least seven people, including woman and child, were killed Wednesday in regime airstrikes on the rebel-held areas in the northwestern province of Hama, rescuing group said. Duraid Hamoud, Civil Defense volunteer, told Zaman al-Wasl that strike hit a van carrying...

A ninth convoy of evacuees carrying people from the northern countryside of Homs province in western Syria arrived on Wednesday in Aleppo’s western countryside and Idlib province, according to Anadolu Agency correspondents on the ground. The convoy of dozens of buses carried 6,800...

 Iran said Wednesday that new sanctions imposed on it by Washington were an attempt to derail efforts to save the 2015 nuclear deal by its remaining signatories following the U.S. withdrawal from the accord. The U.S. Treasury on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Iran's central bank...

Pope Francis on Wednesday condemned the killing of Palestinians near the Gaza-Israel border, saying the deaths would only lead to more violence, and appealed for dialogue to bring justice and peace to the Middle East. "I express my great pain for the dead and wounded and I am close in...

A global arms watchdog on Wednesday confirmed that chlorine was "likely used as a chemical weapon" in a February attack on the Syrian town of Saraqeb. A fact-finding mission by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons determined that "chlorine was released from cylinders...

  Air strikes against Syrian rebels have gone up 150 percent since Russia intervened in the conflict in 2015, helping the regime triple the territory under its control, a report published on Tuesday showed. The analysis by IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre (JTIC) also...

Turkey will never accept the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as capital of Israel, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday. “We will never accept US attempt to move embassy to Jerusalem and to recognize Jerusalem as Israeli capital,” Erdogan said in a joint news...

The U.S. on Tuesday sanctioned the head of Iran's central bank and another senior bank official, claiming they have been key to funneling money to the external operations unit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Lebanese Hezbollah. Valiollah Seif was blacklisted by...

North Korea threatened Wednesday to cancel a much-anticipated and unprecedented summit between its leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, the South's Yonhap news agency reported. Pyongyang also cancelled high-level talks due Wednesday with Seoul over the Max Thunder joint...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- The U.S. Army has arrested 6 Syrian ISIS fighters in northern Hasaka province after air raids targeted two border villages with Iraq, local activist told Zaman al-Wasl Tuesday. Malaz al-Yousef, Hasaka-based activist said three attack helicopters carrying U.S. troops and...

The top adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Tuesday that the election results in Iraq were "very good" and said Tehran respects the will of the Iraqi people. "This was a very good election and we congratulate the Iraqi government and people. Whoever the Iraqi people choose...

Populist Shiite religious scholar Moqtada Sadr Tuesday eyed a governing coalition after dealing a blow to both Iranian and U.S. influence with a shock election triumph that upended Iraqi politics. With the last ballots still being counted, however, Tehran and its local allies already...