Syrian farmer Muhammad Jaweesh is busy nowadays as it is the harvest season of apricot from which he makes the traditional Qamar al-Din sweet in the eastern countryside of the capital Damascus. The 50-year-old man wakes up early in the morning, savoring his hot tea and having a quick...

Lebanese troops deployed in the northern city of Tripoli early Sunday taking positions around major state institutions after a night of protests and riots against worsening living conditions left several protesters and 10 soldiers injured. Sporadic protests were reported throughout...

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Maerg was serving customers at his cafe in Ethiopia’s Tigray village of Togoga when the military airstrike occurred, filling the room with dust and bringing down debris that struck him on the head. “Everything was covered in black smoke, it was like a hell,”...

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) on Saturday issued the tenth annual report on torture in Syria, marking the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, which falls annually on June 26. In the latest report, SNHR reveals that torture has been used as a systemic and ongoing...

 Three civilians were killed on Saturday by the explosion of an explosive device in the city of Afrin in northern Syria, state-run news agency reported.   Citing local sources, SANA said a powerful explosion rocked Afrin as a result of an explosive device affixed in a car....

Syrian regime forces backed by Russia's military police have besieged Daraa al-Balad city in southern Daraa province as residents refuse to hand over their own weapons, local reporter said Saturday.   Local activists say the Russian demand is a new trick to tighten control over the...

Palestinian group Hamas on Saturday called for escalating “popular resistance” against Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank. “The occupation government’s approval of a settlement scheme that includes 31 settlement plans in the West Bank proves the extremism of the...

A draft U.N. Security Council resolution circulated Friday would authorize the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria across the borders of Turkey and Iraq, but Syria’s close ally Russia holds the key to its adoption. Russia has come under intense pressure from the U.N., U.S. and others...

HELSINKI (AP) — Finnish health authorities have detected a spike in coronavirus cases that has been traced to soccer fans returning from neighboring Russia following European Championship matches in St. Petersburg. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare on Saturday urged “all...

A senior US official has warned countries in the Middle East against restoring ties with Syria, citing atrocities committed by the government of President Bashar al-Assad, as well as stringent sanctions against doing business with Damascus.  On a call to reporters on Friday, Joey...

World Food Programme (WFP) spokesperson Tomson Phiri said that the renewal of the UN resolution allowing cross-border operation was critical, since “millions of lives are at stake”. Lifeline for 2.4 million Speaking in Geneva during a regular briefing, Mr. Phiri explained that...

MIAMI (AP) — A Filipino-American who loved to play the piano and her Chilean husband lived on the 10th floor of the building. One flight down were Cuban immigrant grandparents who had dreamed of retiring at the beach. And just a week ago, a young Paraguayan arrived to work as a nanny. The...

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced on Friday to 22.5 years for the murder of George Floyd, a death that touched off international outrage. Chauvin showed no reaction as the verdict was announced by Judge Peter Cahill. Reaction outside the courthouse,...

Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi has tested positive for COVID-19 and will continue to work remotely, the premier's office said on Friday. The office said in a statement that all of Mechichi's meetings had been suspended and his staff tested for the virus. According to the latest...

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders greenlighted plans on Friday to give Turkey another 3 billion euros ($3.6 billion) over the next few years to provide fresh assistance to Syrian refugees on its territory and to help the country boost border controls. “It’s about additional funds...

The Russian military launched sweeping maneuvers in the Mediterranean Sea featuring warplanes capable of carrying hypersonic missiles on Friday, in a show of force amid a surge in tensions following an incident with a British destroyer in the Black Sea. Moscow said one of its warships...

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Away from the once-maddening crowds of St. Mark’s Square, tiny Certosa island could be a template for building a sustainable future in Venice as it tries to relaunch its tourism industry without boomeranging back to pre-pandemic day-tripping hordes. Private...

KOH DAMAN, Afghanistan (AP) — For two days the fighting was blistering. Rockets and heavy machine gun fire pounded Imam Sahib, a key district on Afghanistan’s northern border with Tajikistan. When the explosions died down and Syed Akram finally emerged from his home earlier this week,...

TOKYO (AP) — After months of frustration and delay, Japan has hit the remarkable benchmark of 1 million vaccines a day. But with the Olympics set to start in less than a month, and only a small portion of the country vaccinated, a question lingers: Is it enough? The vaccination pace is...

Millions of people in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province face “catastrophic” consequences if a cross-border aid operation is shut down during a Security Council vote next month, humanitarian advocates warned. In Idlib, northwest Syria, much-needed humanitarian relief supplies are brought in...