The emir of Qatar, a key backer of Sudan's Islamist regime, is to visit cash-strapped Khartoum for talks on bolstering ties, days after the UN and African Union raised an alarm over the upsurge in violence in Darfur. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani's one-day trip on...
Amid Syria’s ongoing war woes, the upcoming launch of a new Syrian airline has attracted a wave of criticism over the regime’s apparent ability to weather the three-year conflict. But this hasn’t been the only type of criticism. The private carrier’s launch announcement has also...
A suicide car bomber exploded his vehicle at an army checkpoint in eastern Lebanon near the border with Syria on Saturday, killing at least one soldier, a security official said. "A suicide bomber detonated his car in front of a Lebanese army checkpoint at Aqabet al-Jurd in the Arsal...
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has called for domestic support for his fighters after a year of growing sectarian violence in Lebanon following the Shia armed group's intervention in the Syrian war. "Some in Lebanon say the resistance (Hezbollah) has nothing to do with Syria,"...
Turkey has started an espionage investigation after a recorded discussion between top officials on potential military action in Syria was leaked on YouTube, heralding a possible government crackdown on its political opponents after elections on Sunday. The recording of the...
Syrian government forces captured two villages near the border with Lebanon on Saturday, continuing a weeks-long advance that has cut a major supply route for weapons and fighters into the country from eastern Lebanon, said activists and state TV. The villages of Flita and Ras Maara were...
The United Nations humanitarian chief Valerie Amos on Friday urged Syria's government to end needless restrictions on access to areas where besieged Syrians are in desperate need of aid after three years of civil war. She also voiced concern about opposition groups,...
While many inside and out of Syria bemoan the lack of attention that the conflict is getting internationally, it is perhaps the most “covered” war in history, given the nature of current media and technology, with thousands of YouTube channels, Twitter accounts and Facebook pages...
The United States could not have stopped the humanitarian crisis in Syria with military strikes, President Barack Obama said in a television interview airing on Friday, and said U.S. troops had reached their limits after long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama was...
Syrian opposition interim government said in statement posted online Friday that it will pay 500,000 dollars as subvention to rebels who are making gains in coast battles. The decision was the outcome of the weekly meeting of the National Coalition...
President Barack Obama , making his first visit to Saudi Arabia since 2009, met King Abdullah on Friday for two hours of talks that aides said would focus on Middle East peace, Iran and ways to strengthen moderate Syrian rebels. The elderly king, accompanied by a number of...
It is already past lunchtime and souvenir shop owner Halil Santoglu has yet to make a sale - a frequent complaint these days in this once bustling bazaar as the war in nearby Syria wreaks havoc with the economy of Turkey's southern borderlands. Santoglu and...
Journalist Moayyad Skaif has accused Syrian reconciliation minister of c omplicity in the murder of his family members in Assad's prisons. On his Facebook page, Skaif accused Ali Haidar of conspiracy to arrest members of his families, in particular Bassel Skaif, and he...
The opposition Syrian National Coalition snapped back empty-handed from Kuwait’s Arab summit Wednesday, analysts and activists said. The key opposition group has failed to get Syria Arab League seat after continuous promises and pledges by Arab state senior officials....
An influx of almost 1 million refugees from Syria into neighboring Lebanon poses a serious threat to the already fragile country, but donor nations may not grasp the potential impact of further destabilization, a U.N. official said on Thursday. "There is not a single...
Islamist fighters from an al Qaeda splinter group bombed a large Shi'ite Muslim shrine in the eastern Syrian city of Raqqa on Wednesday, activists said. The mosque of Ammar bin Yassir and Oweis al-Qarni was once a destination for Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims from Iran , Lebanon...
A mortar shell fired into Turkey from Syria exploded in an uninhabited area in the southern province of Hatay's Reyhanlı district late on Wednesday. No casualties were reported. Local news agencies reported on Wednesday evening that the mortar shell landed in an uninhabited area...
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan described the leaking on YouTube on Thursday of a recording of top security officials discussing possible military operations in Syria as "villainous" and the government blocked access to the video-sharing site. The anonymous...
A video released on YouTube shows the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front preparing to execute two Saudi fighters in Syria. According to the unidentified executioner heard speaking in the video, the men were accused of “betraying” the jihadists by joining the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria...
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia Thursday appointed his half-brother Moqren bin Abdul Aziz as the next heir to the throne, paving the way for him to become a future king. The move was announced by a royal decree broadcast by state television channel Al-Ikhbariya. Under...
