Washington (AFP) - The United States is offering a reward of $1 million for information about Austin Tice, an American journalist missing in Syria since 2012. The FBI announced the reward this week, without any explanation on the timing. "The timing of this reward is unrelated...

American actress Natalie Portman has turned down an invitation to attend a festival in Israel -- where she had been slated to receive an award -- to protest ongoing Israeli violence against Palestinians, Israeli media reported on Friday.   According to Israeli daily Yedioth...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday warned Iran that Israeli would “exact a heavy price” from whoever sought to harm its people. “We hear the threats from Iran and the Israeli army is prepared for any possible scenario,” Netanyahu said at a special cabinet meeting....

The European Commission on Friday extended anti-dumping duties on steel ropes and cables from China for another five years. In a statement, the commission said that anti-dumping duties of 60.4 percent have been in place since 1999 and this was the third expiry review, extending measures...

The Syrian regime has launched fresh military operations in opposition-held parts of the northern Homs province. According to information gathered by Anadolu Agency correspondents in Syria, regime forces have launched fresh assaults since Monday against rebel-held areas of northern...

 (Zaman Al Wasl)- Hayat Tahrir al-Sham said it had killed 20 Palestinian fighters loyal to Bashar al-Assad in Yarmouk refugee camp as regime forces backed by heavy aerial campaign launched major offensive to uproot Daesh and former al-Qaeda group from southern neighborhoods of Damascus,...

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday condemned the expulsion of hundreds of Syrian refugees from their temporary residences in Lebanon. “At least 13 municipalities in Lebanon have forcibly evicted at least 3,664 Syrian refugees from their homes and expelled them from the municipalities,...

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Friday at a meeting in Moscow with United Nations Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura that U.S.-led air strikes in Syria had harmed the peace process, the RIA news agency reported. Shoigu said last weekend's strikes were carried out at the least...

Russian president Vladimir Putin is "ready for a meeting" with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday. Moscow's chief diplomat added that such a summit was not currently being discussed but the Kremlin hopes that a meeting at the White House would...

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday criticized OPEC for output reductions that have helped raise oil prices and said the action would not be tolerated, as oil prices appeared set for a second consecutive week of gains. "Looks like OPEC is at it again. With record amounts of Oil all...

A U.N.-marked vehicle was in the area close to the site of the suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria's Douma on Friday under escort from Russian military police, a Reuters witness said. The arrival of the vehicle comes three days after a U.N. security team turned back while doing...

 Syrian state media says Daesh (ISIS) militants have agreed to give up their last pocket in Damascus. The SANA news agency says militants will be given the option to stay and reconcile with the government or leave on buses to Daesh-held territory in the eastern Syrian desert....

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Rebels agreed late on Thursday to give up four more towns in the eastern Qalamoun region to the Syrian regime, in a string of handovers by rebels following the evacuation of Dumayr, the strategic town northeast of Damascus, spokesman said. Said Seif, spokesman for...

Palestinian shot dead by Israeli forces in Gaza Strip: medics

 German police have detained a Porsche manager in a probe into the diesel emissions cheating scandal hanging over the luxury car brand's parent company Volkswagen. Porsche chief Oliver "Blume informed the workforce that the prosecutor of Stuttgart has taken a manager into custody",...

A group of EU lawmakers Friday urged the bloc's leaders to boycott this year's football World Cup in Russia to protest over Moscow's "mockery of European values". The 60 MEPs said all European Union countries should follow the lead of Britain and non-EU member Iceland in refusing to...

North and South Korea installed the first-ever telephone hotline between their leaders Friday as they prepare for a rare summit next week aimed at resolving the nuclear standoff with Pyongyang. South Korea's presidential office said a successful test call was conducted on the hotline...

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Friday Russia did not know how the situation in Syria would evolve in terms of the country maintaining its territorial integrity, the Interfax news agency reported. "We don't know how the situation is going to develop on the question of...

U.S. President Donald Trump invited his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to the United States during a phone call, and said he would be glad to see Putin in the White House, RIA Novosti reported on Friday, citing the Russian Foreign Ministry. The news agency quoted Foreign Minister...

Britain's U.N. ambassador said Thursday the Russians and Syrians must uphold the promises they made to let chemical weapons inspectors visit the site of a suspected poisonous gas attack in the Damascus suburb of Douma - and "it should happen expeditiously." Karen Pierce said in an...