A new U.N. report names 21 countries where rape and other sexual violence has been committed in current and recent conflicts, from Afghanistan and Central African Republic to Myanmar and Syria. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's report, launched Thursday, says there is now unprecedented...

Delegates from several European countries and the United States, Turkey, Morocco, Jordan and Tunisia are to meet next month to discuss ways to stop young fighters from leaving their countries to join rebel groups in Syria, Belgium says. Joelle Milquet, Belgium's interior...

Syria's rebels shoot down two fighter jets in Qalamoun area, east Damascus on Thursday, source told Zaman Alwasl. The anti-aircraft missiles of  main Islamic Front group, Islam Army hit ‘Sukhoi’ jet near al-Nasseryia military...

A new Islamic alliance to be announced next month which will include most Islamist groups fighting in Syria under one banner called, ‘Mashrou’a Ummah’, the Arabic for ‘Nation Project’, Islamic Front spokesman told Zaman Alwasl.  ...

Israel on Thursday suspended U.S.-sponsored peace talks with the Palestinians in response to President Mahmoud Abbas's unexpected unity pact with the rival Islamist Hamas group. The negotiations had appeared to be heading nowhere even before Wednesday's reconciliation...

Reuters-  The head of the global chemical weapons watchdog overseeing the destruction of Syria's toxic stockpile is considering launching a fact-finding mission on his own initiative to investigate reports of chlorine gas attacks there, sources said. Syria became a member of the...

Syria's air force killed 27 civilians Thursday in a raid on a market in an Aleppo provincial village, as a businessman became the second hopeful to register for the country's controversial presidential election. Meanwhile, a team overseeing Syria's chemical weapons handover said...

The judge presiding over the trial of three al-Jazeera journalists in Egypt temporarily ejected all reporters from the court after a chaotic session in which he admitted he could not understand several audio recordings presented as key prosecution evidence. Prosecutors...

THE Syrian regime likes to keep up the appearance of a constitutional state rather than one run by a family cabal girded by a ruthless security apparatus. So when diplomats tried to mediate between the regime and the opposition in Geneva in February, President...

  By George Hadad; Translation by Dani Murad For many years, regime’s massive defense and military budget have severely limited expenditures in other areas vital to the nation's social, economic, and educational progress because it relied immensely on...

The United States said on Wednesday it was let down by a unity pact agreed to between the Gaza-based Islamist group Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas' Palestine Liberation Organization and added it could make peace efforts difficult. "The timing was...

  Syria declared on Wednesday that it was looking ahead to the dismantling of the international mission overseeing the destruction of the conflict-torn country's chemical arsenal, though Western officials said they want the team to keep working....

At least 24 people killed and dozens wounded when Bashar al-Assad's missile hit the city of Atareb near Aleppo on Thursday morning, Local Coordination Committees reported. Normal 0 false false false...

 Tunisia, where the Arab spring sparked, is to hold both legislative and presidential elections on schedule, before the end of 2014, the leader of Tunisia's Islamist Ennahdha Movement said during his visit to Ankara on Tuesday. Leader of...

An urgent appeal on behalf of millions of Syrian people has gone largely unanswered, according to a joint statement by heads of UN humanitarian agencies in the country.  "The war escalates in many areas. The humanitarian situation deteriorates day after day....

Syrian activist Yasmin Bennishi has been released after 12 days of detention by rebel group at Bab al-Hawa border crossing, Zaman Alwasl source said. The Islamic movement of Ahrar al-Sham, which controls the strategic crossing with Turkey, arrested...

Syria's opposition National Coalition to appoint Mrs. Hanan al-Balkhi as its representative in Norway, well-informed source told Zaman Alwasl.   Al-Balkhi is a prominent female activist and an active member in key coalition group, National...

A Syrian youngster saved an elderly man from drowning near Istanbul’s Galata Bridge on April 21, as a local crowd watched and applauded the dramatic scene. A man had jumped into the Golden Horn after climbing the bridge railing, after which Rabaa...

Translation by Yusra Ahmed  In previous report ,  shocking crimes of Shabiha were revealed, via reports they wrote against each other, which gave significant credibility to the mentioned stories and crimes. Khnaifis, a small town...

Syria's parliament speaker says a lawmaker has announced his candidacy for the June 3 presidential election — the first to field his bid for the top post in a vote called despite the country's relentless civil war. President Bashar Assad has suggested he would seek another term in...