The United States is becoming more careful in its ties with Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters and Ankara has seen some changes in attitude from Washington about the relationship, Turkey's presidential spokesman said on Friday. "I see some change in the U.S. position. I think they are being...

Last July, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad seemed to be losing his battle against rebel forces. Speaking to supporters in Damascus, he acknowledged his army's heavy losses. Western officials said the Syrian leader’s days were numbered and predicted he would soon be forced to the...

Millions of Iranians voted in high-stake elections on Friday that could shift the balance of power within the hardline-controlled Islamic elite by ushering in a reformist comeback or help conservatives tighten their grip on power. The contest is seen by some analysts as a...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian rebels thwarted Friday an attack carried out by the regime army and Shiite militias on the western countryside of Aleppo province, killing 10 troops, local reporter said. On Friday's down, regime forces backed by Shiite fighters took parts of Sheikh Aqeel town. But...

Russia Friday halted the deportation of three Syrian asylum seekers to Damascus in a last-minute reprieve after an outcry from rights groups including Amnesty International, activists said. Officials Thursday had escorted the three men from war-ravaged Aleppo to Moscow's Vnukovo airport and...

 Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday said that the peace process in Syria would be "complicated" but that there were no other ways of ending the conflict, ahead of the scheduled start of a ceasefire. "We understand fully and take into account that this will be a complicated, and maybe...

French oil giant Total has been convicted and fined in a retrial over corruption charges related to the UN's Oil-for-Food programme. The company had been among a number of firms and individuals accused of bribing Iraqi officials in exchange for contracts as part of the programme. Former Iraqi...

Turkey has serious worries about the Syrian ceasefire deal due to ongoing fighting, President Tayyip Erdogan's aide and spokesman said Friday, hours before the U.S.-Russian deal was due to start. Ibrahim Kalin also told a news conference in Ankara that Turkey will respond to any incidents...

An official says a small plane with 11 people on board has crashed in mountainous western Nepal. Government official Padamlal Lamichane said at least one person had died according to initial reports. He said the plane belonging to Kasthamandap Airlines appeared to have technical trouble...

International talks to resolve the Syria crisis may restart in Geneva on March 7, a Russian Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity on Friday.

(Zaman Al Wasl- Nahar Net)- A senior Hezbollah military commander was killed in the ongoing battles in northern Aleppo province, activists and media outlets said Friday. Ali Fayyad, (dubbed: Alaa of Bosnia), has been killed by rebels near newly regime-captured town of Khanasser. Fayyad was...

(BBC)- President Obama has said the coming weeks will be "critical" for Syria's future, ahead of a two-week truce due to start on Friday. He warned Russia that all parties to the cessation of hostilities needed to stop attacks, including air strikes. If successful, he said, the truce could be...

Western anti-terror laws are forcing aid agencies in Syria to avoid communities controlled by extremist groups, making it harder to deliver vital supplies and leaving people vulnerable to radicalization, a Thomson Reuters Foundation investigation found. A survey of 21 international...

  The Islamic State seized tons of toxic Hydrazine material after seizing control of Lafarge Cement Syria in Aleppo province in September 2014, the material that might have been used later in the ISIS explosives-laden vehicles, documents obtained by Zaman al-Wasl showed.   In...

The United Nations will name a date on Friday for Syria's warring parties to return to the negotiating table for a second round of talks, U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday. De Mistura abruptly aborted a first round of talks on Feb. 3 and urged countries in the...

Russia said on Thursday the Syria ceasefire process was underway despite what it said were attempts by some U.S. officials to sabotage it, while reiterating that Russian warplanes would continue pounding what it called terrorist groups. The "cessation of hostilities" agreed by...

Russian warplanes bombed Syrian rebel-held areas in northwestern Syria and government forces pounded a suburb of the capital on Thursday, ahead of a planned halt to fighting which rebels predicted Damascus and Moscow would ignore. The "cessation of hostilities" agreed by the...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- SDF, a Kurdish-led alliance backed by U.S.-led strikes, has launched new attacks on ISIS to capture further ground after a week of seizing al-Shadadi town in northeastern Hasakah province, activists said. Omar al-Shami, local activist, said SDF fighters backed by the U.S.-led...

(The New York Times)- When the World Health Organization wanted to know how the war in Syria was affecting the mental health of those forced to flee their homes, the agency hired someone known less for her expertise than for her connections: The consultant, Shukria Mekdad, is the wife of Faisal...

Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a Shi'ite mosque in Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 15 people, police and medical sources said. A further 50 people were wounded...