The Islamic Front claimed Monday to have launched six Grad missiles at the headquarters of the National Defense Forces (NDF), the semi-official pro-government militias, in the Latakia province town of Qardaha, the birthplace of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. “As a part of the...

In an attempt to understand strategies the Syrian regime uses to keep the dollar exchange rate at SP 150, Zaman alwasl has met Samir Seifan, an economist and researcher, to explain some economic issues affecting Syrian economy and budget. Seifan said that strategy Syrian...

Vladimir Putin is the world leader who is most admired by the head of Britain's anti-European Union party because of the Russian president's "brilliant" handling of the Syria crisis, Nigel Farage said in an interview published on Monday. When asked which leader he had most esteem...

German authorities arrested three people with alleged ties to a Syrian radical group Monday in police raids across the country, the federal prosecutor's office said. Two of the suspects, a German and a Turk, are believed to have travelled to Syria last year and joined the militant...

Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has said he will build a “stronger democracy” after his ruling Justice and Development Party seemed set for a decisive local election victory on Sunday. Speaking to a cheering crowd of supporters at his AK Party's...

The rebel bloc Islamic Front  has posted a statement  on the “al-Anfal” battles  in Latakia Province, summarizing opposition advances. The Front claims the capture of ammunition and rockets and says insurgents destroyed nine tanks and more than 100 cars and trucks....

Bashar al-Assad's troops recaptured on Monday a key position in coastal Latakia province, a regime bastion, state television said, as rebels press a campaign in the region. "Syrian army units have full control of Observatory 45 in the north of Latakia province and are continuing to...

Two days after Israeli army shot dead two suspected gunmen while trying to enter the country from Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Sunday to repel all cross-border attacks. "The IDF thwarted an attempt to infiltrate the border," Xinhua quoted Netanyahu as saying....

Syria's information minister has lashed out at Turkey, accusing Ankara of sending foreign fighters across the border to fight Syrian government troops in President Bashar Assad's ancestral homeland in Latakia province. Omran al-Zoubi told the state TV on Sunday that neighbouring...

"Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon claims to have received footage of the most recent call between President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin as the two discussed the crisis in Crimea. In the clip above, Fallon's Putin takes a swig of vodka, taunts the U.S. president on...

Saudi Arabia's appointment of Prince Muqrin as deputy crown prince is a first step towards addressing its biggest dynastic challenge for 50 years and forestalling a possible succession crisis in the world's top oil exporter. The ruling al-Saud family is fast approaching the moment when...

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks on Sunday about ways to defuse the crisis over  Ukraine , with Kerry telling Moscow that progress depended on a Russian troop pullback from Ukraine's borders. "Both sides made...

Ruling party under Prime Minister Erdogan overcomes sleaze and graft claims to boost support, according to early unofficial results. The ruling AK Party leads the polls in Sunday's local elections in Turkey, looking set to increase its votes in the first ballot...

  Syria’s key opposition group the National Coalition will issue and renew passports for Syrians abroad in the forthcoming months, especially for who oppose Bashar al-Assad' regime and can't renew their passports over security precautions, source in the Syrian community in...

Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party took a strong early lead in local elections Sunday, TV channels reported, despite turbulent months marked by mass protests, corruption scandals and Internet blocks. With over 18 percent of the municipal votes nationwide counted by early...

Eight people were killed in isolated clashes in Turkey on Sunday during municipal elections that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan hopes will validate him in his battle against a corruption scandal. The voting may have become a crisis referendum on the rule of Mr Erdogan and...

Dozens of troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were killed in two attacks carried out by rebels in Aleppo, opposition sources reported on Sunday. Ziad Hajj Obeid, a commander for the rebel Free Syrian Army, said their forces carried two “special operations’ in the city, and...

Two Spanish journalists held hostage in Syria by an al Qaeda-linked militant group for 194 days have been freed and handed over to the Turkish military in good health, one of the men told his employer El Mundo newspaper. El Mundo Middle East correspondent Javier Espinosa called the...

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has selected a new ambassador to represent Tehran at the United Nations, Hamid Abutalebi, a veteran diplomat who has held key European postings in the past, Iranian sources said. Abutalebi, who has served as Iran's ambassador to  Italy ,...

Over 50 million eligible voters cast their ballots in Turkey's local elections, amid corruption allegations and damaging security leaks that have shaken the 12-year rule of the  Justice and Development Party  (AKP) government.   The municipal elections have become a...