A Syrian who arrived in Germany as a refugee in 2015 has won a mayoral election in the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg. Ryyan Alshebl, who left his hometown of As Suwayda in Syria eight years ago, ran as an independent in the municipality of Ostelsheim. He won 55.41% of the...

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday sanctioned two Lebanese brothers who are accused of selling “dangerously compromised fuel" to Lebanon's state utility company. The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control blocked Raymond Zina Rahme and Teddy Zina Rahme from accessing U.S. bank...

MOSCOW (AP) — Senior diplomats from Russia, Turkey, Syria and Iran wrapped up two days of talks in Moscow on Tuesday, part of the Kremlin's efforts to help broker a rapprochement between the Turkish and Syrian governments. The Russian and Turkish foreign ministries issued terse readouts,...

French judges have ordered senior officials of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria to stand trial for collusion in crimes against humanity, a first in France, according to court documents seen by AFP Tuesday. The order, signed last Wednesday, says the officials, all senior advisors to Assad,...

On April 4, 2017, more than 100 Syrian civilians were killed in a chemical attack by Syrian regime forces on the town of Khan Sheikhoun in the northwestern Idlib province. Emboldened by Russian support, the regime of Bashar al-Assad did not stop at this point, but continued its air and...

The Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs rejected a request submitted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) demanding that Syrian refugees be given the financial assistance they are owed in dollars instead of Lebanese pounds. The ministry also rejected another request...

A drone strike carried out by the American-led coalition in northwestern Syria has killed a senior member of the Islamic State group who was in charge of planning attacks in Europe, the United States military said Tuesday. The man killed Monday in the strike was identified by a U.S. military...

Middle East supplies of crude oil are expected to contract further, starting in May, after the OPEC + group announced plans to cut production further. This is expected to raise costs for refiners from Asia to Europe and prompt them to seek more supplies from Russia, Africa and the Americas....

In the years since Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman catapulted to power, it has been hard to find a controversy in the Middle East that doesn't somehow involve the 37-year-old heir to the throne. Now he's pivoting to his next audacious plan: Giving peace a chance. The moves toward...

Israeli airstrikes hit several sites in Syria's Homs province early Sunday, wounding five soldiers, Syrian state media reported. Hours later, the Israeli military said it shot down an “aircraft” that crossed from Syria into Israel's airspace. In Iran, state media reported that an Iranian...

Saudi Arabia is planning to invite Bashar al-Assad to an Arab League summit that Riyadh is hosting in May, three sources familiar with the plans told Reuters. The move would formally end Assad’s regional isolation. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will travel to Damascus...

BEIRUT (AP) — Israeli airstrikes hit several sites in Syria's Homs province early Sunday, wounding five soldiers, Syrian state media reported. In Iran, state media reported that an Iranian adviser who was wounded in an Israeli strike on Friday died of his wounds. Since the start of Syria's...

Syria’s chief diplomat was in Egypt on Saturday in a step toward normalizing ties between the two countries. It was the first trip to the capital of Cairo for a Syrian foreign minister in over a decade. Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad met with Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry for talks that...

Europe’s biggest armed conflict since World War II is poised to enter a new phase in the coming weeks. With no suggestion of a negotiated end to the 13 months of fighting between Russia and Ukraine, the Ukrainian defense minister said last week that a spring counteroffensive could begin as...

Under intense scrutiny from Washington that could lead to a potential ban, the top attorney for TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance defended the social media platform’s plan to safeguard U.S. user data from China. “The basic approach that we’re following is to make it physically...

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russian strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed in Belarus along with part of Russia's tactical nuclear arsenal, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Friday. . Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that his country intended to deploy...

BEIRUT (AP) — A European Union official visiting Lebanon said Friday that the international body will increase its humanitarian assistance to the crisis-struck country, but that more significant long-term aid depends on reforms and a deal with the International Monetary Fund. EU Commissioner...

Israeli airstrikes hit the suburbs of Syria's capital city early Friday for the second day in a row, killing an Iranian adviser, the state media of Syria and Iran reported. Loud explosions were heard over Damascus shortly after midnight Thursday, according to residents in the capital and the...

 Russia has asked Iraq’s government to reopen its airspace to the Russian military, which wants to transport troops and equipment to its bases in eastern Syria, a diplomat and Iraqi officials told Middle East Eye. The proposed Russian-Syrian air corridor passing through Iraqi airspace...

Syrian state media said Israel staged airstrikes in the Damascus area early Thursday, wounding two soldiers and causing material damage. Loud explosions were heard over the Syrian capital around 1:30 a.m., and the SANA state news agency said Syrian air defenses were “confronting hostile...