(theguaredian)- The White House on Saturday condemned the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government, after an international inquiry found its forces responsible for a third toxic gas attack in Syria’s civil war. The fourth report from the 13-month-long inquiry by the United Nations...

(theguardian)- Britain’s biggest banks are preparing to relocate out of the UK in the first few months of 2017 amid growing fears over the impending Brexit negotiations, while smaller banks are making plans to get out before Christmas. The dramatic claim is made in the Observer by the chief...

Iraqi army troops on Saturday stormed into a Christian region that has been under Islamic State control since 2014 as part of U.S.-backed operations to clear the entrances to Mosul, the militants' last major city stronghold in Iraq. The advance took place as U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi on Saturday for his stance against a resolution adopted by UNESCO on Jerusalem. The UN cultural agency on Tuesday adopted an Arab-sponsored resolution condemning Israel's actions at a flashpoint holy site...

(Eqtsad)- A Turkish official told Eqtsad that EU's funds allocated to help Syrian refugees who live out of Turkish camps will go only for Syrians in urgent need. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said several meetings have been held so far to prepare the necessary mechanisms...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- The Syrian resistance on Saturday thwarted regime attack on Khan al-Shih and Deir Khabiya suburbs west of the capital, Local Coordination Committees said. Backing the ground offensive, regime warplanes have dropped at least 26 barrel bombs and 15 FIL surface-to-surface...

Turkish-backed forces will press on to the Islamic State-held town of al-Bab in Syria, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, emphasizing Ankara's drive to sweep militants and Syrian Kurdish fighters from territory near its border. The Syrian military, however, said the presence...

They burst into the house in the early hours of the morning and pointed a gun at Abu Mohammed's head: "We are the Islamic State -- give us your car!" To protect his children and grandchildren, the 69-year-old Iraqi agreed to hand over the keys. A retired police officer with thin grey...

Heavy clashes between regime and rebel forces erupted in several areas of Syria's divided city of Aleppo late on Saturday after a unilateral ceasefire announced by government ally Russia expired. Moscow had extended the unilateral "humanitarian pause" into a third day until 1600 GMT on...

 (Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian regime warplanes renewed its air strikes on the northern countryside of Hama province on Saturday as the Resistance Tow and grad missiles left several army soldiers killed and wounded. ` The aerial bombing targeted the towns of Kafr Zeita, Mork, Maerkabba and...

(Zaman al-Wasl) Fateh al-Sham Front fighters blew up a tunnel used by the Islamic State forces in Yarmouk camp in southern Damascus at dawn on Saturday, source told Zaman al-Wasl. The 25-meter-long tunnel was dug to be used in attacking Fateh al-Sham fighters in the besieged in al-Reiji area...

In an unusual legal maneuver, Donald Trump's attorneys have asked a federal judge to exclude any statements made by or about the Republican nominee during the presidential campaign from his upcoming civil trial over the now-defunct Trump University. The legal request, filed late Thursday in...

The Aleppo that Ibrahim al-Haj's son Laith was born into 10 months ago is now being destroyed. The opposition-held districts of the Syrian city have been surrounded and under siege for months. Russian and Syrian warplanes are bombing the streets into rubble and government forces are chipping...

(The Daily Star)- An Egyptian court confirmed a 20-year prison sentence against former president Mohamed Morsi Saturday, judicial sources told Reuters. It is the first final verdict against Morsi on charges arising from the killing of protesters during demonstrations in 2012. Morsi,...

At least 60 were killed when a packed passenger train derailed between Cameroon's two main cities, a hospital source in the capital Yaounde said Saturday, giving a new toll the day after the accident. Almost 600 people were injured when the train, travelling from Yaounde to the economic hub...

(The Daily Star)- The Greek authorities Saturday hit back at U.N. criticism of its decision to return a group of Syrians to Turkey. The U.N.'s refugee agency, UNHCR, Friday said in a statement it was "seriously concerned" by Greece's decision to return 10 Syrian asylum seekers to Turkey,...

(Eqtsad)- Throughout Deraa’s history, the livestock industry been a major source of income for a wide range of citizens in the province. Work in livestock and related professions provided thousands of jobs for people in the province. This sector, in tandem with the years of the Syrians...

The reformist website in Iran, Amad News, has stated that the Iranian authorities held an emergency meeting to consider a strategy to end the scandal of Saeed Toosi and maintain Iran's reputation and that of its leaders, after claims he raped several of his students, sources have said. Toosi,...

Nineteen people died when a helicopter carrying oil and gas field workers crashed in a remote area of Siberia in bad weather, Russian investigators said Saturday. The Mi-8 helicopter carrying 22 people including three crew crashed Friday night in the far-northern Yamalo-Nenetsky region some...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Bavarian allies will back her if she decides to run for a fourth term next year, a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU) said on Saturday, signalling a possible end of a row over migration among conservatives. "Angela Merkel is our candidate," CSU...