(The Guardian)- James Mattis, the new US defence secretary, has reassured his British counterpart that Washington has an “unshakeable commitment” to Nato, despite Donald Trump previously casting the military alliance as obsolete. During a phone call with Michael Fallon on his first full day...

The talks on Syria in Astana involving the delegations of the regime and the opposition, Russia, Turkey, Iran, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura and US Ambassador to Kazakhstan George Krol acting as an observer entered their second day on Tuesday. The Syrian regime and the...

President Enrique Pena Nieto on Monday outlined a new foreign policy plan that would redefine the country’s relationship with the U.S. and to seek new trade partnerships with other countries after Washington withdrew from a multinational trade deal. “It's clear that the U.S. has a new vision...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- The U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces pressed rapid advances against the Islamic State in Raqqa province on Monday, making the strategic Euphrates dam just few blocks from its sight, sources said. The Kurdish-led alliance of Kurds and Arabs on Saturday took the village of...

The Pentagon on Monday denied that it had coordinated air strikes with Russia in Syria, after Russia's defense ministry said the United States had provided coordinates for Islamic State militants. The Russian defense ministry said the Russian military had received coordinates of Islamic...

A 21-year-old man arrested in Germany on suspicion of planning an Islamist attack has admitted links to a man being held by the Austrian police for the same reason, German investigators said on Monday. Police in Vienna said they would remain on high alert until they could rule out that...

ISIS expelled civilians from their homes along the Tigris on Mosul's west bank, apparently bracing for a cross-river attack on their bastion by Iraqi forces, residents said Monday. "The group forced us to leave our homes... without allowing us to take our belongings," a resident of...

 A first day of indirect peace talks between Syrian rebels and the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Kazakhstan's capital Astana ended Monday without any apparent breakthrough, sources told AFP. "Our delegation's meetings are over for today," a source close to the regime told AFP, after rebel...

(Zaman Al Wasl) Exclusive - Zaman Al Wasl exclusively obtains new batch of ISIS data, including the inner circle correspondents and names of the leading commanders and their duties and tasks. Newly leaked ISIS data shows how the CALIPHATE manages it's oil business. The leaked data has...

Dozens of rebel Turkish soldiers went on trial Monday over their alleged role in last year's failed coup, in the first case to be heard of dissident troops in Istanbul. Prosecutors say the defendants attempted to take over Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen Airport on the night of July 15, when rogue...

Iraqi forces have taken complete control of the eastern side of Mosul, dislodging Islamic State militants from the last pocket they held east of Tigris river, the defense ministry said on Monday. Read More: Latakia: rebels thwart regime attack in Jabal al-Akrad ISIS...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Om Mahmoud, 50, recounts the intimate details of her loss and forced migration from the al-Khaldiyeh neighborhood in the central city of Homs. Om Mahmoud was forced to leave in 2012 by the regime forces and auxiliary militias. She left behind three graves and a...

Syria talks in the Kazakh capital Astana come at a time of significant changes to the conflict in its sixth year. Although promising to focus on reinforcing a cease-fire, the conference has raised expectations of a path toward a political settlement of the civil war. The talks are sponsored...

(The Guardian)- Indirect talks between Syrian rebel factions and government representatives have opened in Kazakhstan, as Russia takes on the role of Middle East power broker. The meetings, scheduled to last two days at a luxury hotel in the Kazakh capital, Astana, will focus on how to...

The new U.S. administration must fully understand the importance of the "one China" policy and appreciate that the issue of Taiwan is highly sensitive for the Beijing government, China said on Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump, who was inaugurated on Friday, said in December the United...

The Great Mosque of Aleppo, a centuries-old treasure at the heart of one of the world's oldest cities, is today a grim monument to the ravages of Syria's war. The doors have been blasted away, the walls have been shredded by gunfire and shrapnel, and the minaret where the Muslim call to...

(Al-Jazeera)- A delegation of Syrian rebels attending a new round of talks in Kazakhstan's capital will not hold direct talks with representatives of the government, according to opposition sources. The meetings in Astana, organised by Russia and Turkey, are aimed at strengthening a shaky...

Syrian refugee children in Lebanon are struggling to get an education and many are being pushed into work or early marriage instead, the United Nations children's agency UNICEF said on Monday. Around 187,000 youngsters - roughly half the school-age Syrian children in the country - are not...

(Tass)- Talks on the Syrian crisis have begun in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana. The meeting is being held at the Rixos Hotel. The issues topping the meeting’s agenda include strengthening the ceasefire and advancing the negotiation process in order to hold consultations in Geneva on February...

Syrian rebels are due to meet their war-torn country's government Monday in the Kazakh capital Astana, in the latest push to end the conflict. Scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., the planned face-to-face talks would be the first time armed rebel groups have negotiated with President Bashar...