UN investigators said Tuesday said they had "reasonable grounds" to believe both sides in Syria have used chemical weapons, and warned that crimes against humanity were now occurring daily in the war-torn country. "Allegations have been received concerning the use of chemical weapons by both...

Assad regime forces sought Friday to follow up on their victory in a key town near the Lebanon border by sending reinforcements to battle rebels in Homs and the northern province of Aleppo. The move comes a day after a brief rebel seizure of the Quneitra crossing on the Israeli-occupied...

Shariah Commission in Aleppo pledged to secure the defection of soldiers and employees who still with the regime Army, during the period of one month beginning on Friday. The commission said in a statement: "We call upon all citizens, brothers and parents, to this initiative to...

  The Syrian government has interrogated students and carried out violent assaults on their protests and military attacks on schools, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.Both government forces and opposition armed groups have used schools as military bases,...

  Inside a furniture-free caravan in the Jordanian desert, sixteen women and girls and a plump boy wedge themselves in a circle around a 15 -year-old girl and a woman doing her hair. The hairdresser combs through one-inch sections, spraying on a fixative before twisting...

The capture of Qusair by Syrian troops spearheaded by Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shi'ite Islamist militia, risks turning the war in  Syria  into a wider sectarian battle between Sunni and Shi'ite forces that will sweep through the country's neighbors. The fall of the town after...

Now that President Barack Obama has decided that the war on terror has entered a new phase, he plans to devote a greater effort -- in the immortal words of John Lennon -- to giving peace a chance. That shift is already underway. The indefatigable John Kerry seems to be engaged...

As Iran heads into an election dominated by hardliners, one would-be future president is campaigning from an elegant, wooded US neighborhood accompanied by his dog, a bouncy bichon frise. Hooshang Amirahmadi, an academic with dual citizenship, acknowledges that he has no chance of winning...

WASHINGTON — The White House insisted Thursday it must use every tool to protect Americans against terrorism, after revelations about a vast spy agency sweep of domestic phone records sparked a political backlash. A civil liberties group branded the program, authorized by a top secret court...

Some 200 Russian Islamists who back North Caucasus insurgents are fighting in Syria for Al-Qaeda, the head of the Russian security service (FSB) said Thursday, Russian news agencies reported.   "The fact that around 200 fighters from Russia are fighting on the side of the Caucasus...

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife Lyudmila on Thursday announced they have divorced after three decades of marriage, in a joint interview with state television after watching a ballet performance. "It was a joint decision," Putin said during the interview with Rossia-24...

ANKARA — Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul have strongly differing lines on Turkey's mass protests, throwing a spotlight on their growing rivalry ahead of next year's elections when both could potentially run for the presidency, observers say. Ever since the first...

The capture by Syrian pro-government forces of the strategic Qusayr region is a major victory for President Bashar al-Assad, who is now better placed than ever if a US-Russian plan for peace talks materialises. The nearly three-week battle for Qusayr in central Syria exposed the central role...

Istanbul- Micheal Kilo, the new member of the Syrian National Coalition considered that the recent expansion is expressing the Syrian national will. He pledged in a statement to "Zaman Alwasl," to quit from the coalition if it is not independent in its decisions and performance, pointing...

 Jordanian Foreign Minister, Nasser Judeh, said on Thursday, that the Syrian ambassador to Amman, Bahjat Suleiman has exceeded all diplomatic norms and practices  which is supposed to represent his country's policy, according to Petra agency news.   Al-judeh said he...

Several U.S. lawmakers are expressing frustration with the continued slaughter of civilians in Syria, and some are calling for more clarity and tougher action from President Barack Obama according to 'Voice of America'.   The Chair of the House Foreign Affairs...

  U.S. intelligence agencies have identified three Russian amphibious warships in the eastern Mediterranean that are believed to be carrying weapons shipments that might be used to resupply the Syrian regime, according to a Pentagon official told CNN. The official...

  The regime army has reportedly retaken the only border crossing between Israel and Syria, after rebels had captured it earlier in the day. The crossing in the Golan Heights lies in an UN-controlled demilitarized zone. Israeli and Syrian opposition sources said on...

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported that Minsk sold arms to Damascus. According to researches, Belarus is among three largest arms suppliers to the Syrian dictator.   Cooperation with Assad doesn't cover only trade. Belarusian specialists...

 Head of the Legal Committee in the National Coalition has accused the main opposition body members by wrestling on political merits.   Haitham al-Maleh, the oldest coalition member said in a letter distributed on the members that  the members contributed in...