I'm in Oslo to give a seminar and a public lecture at the Norwegian Institute for Defense Studies, and I'm looking forward to hearing how world politics looks from a Nordic perspective. I haven't been to Norway since 2009, when my visit coincided with the Norwegian Nobel Committee's surprising...

Frustrated by the  muddle that is  U.S. policy in Syria, a growing cadre of hawkish Democrats are putting pressure on the White House to finally outline to the public and to Congress its objectives in the protracted 2 ½ year civil war. The latest and perhaps most outspoken Democrat to...

      Well-informed source told Zaman Alwasl that Muslim Brotherhood Movement in Syria would establish a political party with moderate principles. Some of the founders are already members in Syrian National Council like Dr. Mohamed Walid and Simon Maajon,...

Four Egyptian Shia Muslims have been killed in a mob attack in a village near the capital Cairo, officials say. The attack on Sunday targeted a house where a group of Shia worshippers had gathered for a religious ceremony. The attackers accused those gathered of trying to spread Shia...

Syrian rebels battled President Bashar al-Assad's forces in and around the northern city of Aleppo on Sunday, seeking to reverse gains made by loyalist forces in the commercial hub over the last two months, activists said. The fighting, by a variety of insurgent groups, happened...

The Qatari emir has confirmed to members of the ruling family  that he will step down and transfer power to his heir apparent. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani met with royals, along with other prominent members of Qatari society, on Monday, and announced plans for a transition to...

    Commander of the rebels’ Military Council in Aleppo denied what had said through the social media about receiving weapons shipment by the Chief of Staff commander, Major General Salim Idriss.  Colonel Abdul-Jabbar al-Aqidi said The photo showed Gen. Idriss...

Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem, Qatar’s prime minister and foreign affairs minister, is not the only one who said: We supported Hezbollah when it fought Israel but we are now against it because it’s fighting the Syrian people. Many are today justifying their past stances using this same excuse. With...

The Syrian regime will not go Geneva talks to hand over power and the opposition should not “bother” going if they expect President Bashar al-Assad to resign, Syria’s foreign minister said on Monday. Walid al-Muallem said Assad will not step down. “If your condition is President Assad’s...

“We now have supplies from Saudi Arabia,” a rebel source said. “We have been told more weapons are on their way, even higher-end missiles.” At the G8 this week Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, condemned the West’s attempts to send arms to the opposition, even though he did not rule out...

   Regime forces assisted by Hezbollah Militia have perpetrated another massacre, this one in the village of Mazraa north of Khan Asser in Aleppo province, killing more than 50 civilians, including women and children, aged between 13 and 60, Activists reported.  The...

Syrian rebels need to wrest back control of territory held by Islamist militants whose involvement in the conflict gives Bashar al-Assad a pretext for more violence, French President Francois Hollande said on Sunday. Radical Islamist groups such as the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front have...

  German Authorities will pay close attention to the qualifications of Syrian refugees who will be granted asylum, "Der Spiegel" Magazine disclosed. Two weeks ago, the United Nations refugee agency talked to Germany about resettling up to 10,000 Syrian refugees, UNHCR...

 Qatar appeared on Monday to be readying its population of nearly 2 million for new leadership that could see the emir and prime minister step down, a move analysts say would not herald big changes in energy, investment or foreign policies. The tiny country, the world's largest...

       Series of Clashes between Syrian smugglers and Turkish army on the Syrian borders left 6 people killed at least last month. Eqtsad reported.   On The last two days the Syrian-Turkish borders have witnessed fierce clashed between both...

  Walid Safour, National Coalition representative in London revealed to Zaman Alwasl by Phone that Coalition had lost its office according to funding problems since May 7. The British Association for Support the revolution has stopped its funding to London Office without disclosing...

Six Lebanese soldiers were killed on Sunday in clashes with supporters of a radical Sunni Muslim sheikh opposed to the powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah, an army statement said. "An armed group loyal to Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir attacked, for no reason, a Lebanese army checkpoint in the village...

A leading Syrian opposition figure slammed the decision of the Friends of Syria meeting to arm the rebels, calling the "ridiculous" idea would prolong the crisis and give rise to violence. "We think that the decision of the Friends of Syria meeting to arm the rebels reflects the Western...

The ambush was a simple affair, compared to some of the complex and brutal operations devised in Syria’s civil war. But in a society whose divisions are historic, even if they have only now exploded like a leaky petrol tanker, the circumstances were unusual. The target was a Sunni Muslim...

The Knights of Malta are setting up a mobile clinic for injured Syrians just five kilometres outside the war-torn country, in keeping with their tradition of defending the sick and displaced. The €1.7 million project consists of a 24-bed clinic in containers near the Kilis public...