Syrian couture designer Rami Al Ali has created his new SS21 couture collection and it’s all about the Levantine nation that borders the Mediterranean Sea. It’s a collection of nostalgia to his native heritage, reflecting on the magical allure of a night out in the ancient city of Damascus....

Facebook, following in Google's footsteps, says it plans to invest $1 billion to "support the news industry” over the next three years. The social networking giant, which has been tussling with Australia over a law that would make social platforms pay news organizations, said it has invested...

A real-world test of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in more than half a million people confirms that it’s very effective at preventing serious illness or death, even after one dose. Wednesday’s published results, from a mass vaccination campaign in Israel, give strong reassurance that the...

Bashar al-Assad’s regime had executed one of its top chemical weapons scientists by firing squad in 2001, after he had been exposed as a US intelligence agent since 1988, The Times revealed on Monday. The newspaper reported that, “Known to the CIA as ‘the chemist’, the scientist was...

A former member of Syrian President Bashar Assad's secret police was convicted Wednesday by a German court of facilitating the torture of prisoners in a landmark ruling that human rights activists hope will set a precedent for other cases in the decade-long conflict. Eyad Al-Gharib was...

The Biden administration is moving slowly but surely toward reengaging with the Palestinians after a near total absence of official contact during former President Donald Trump’s four years in office. As American officials plan steps to restore direct ties with the Palestinian...

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the United States will vie for a seat at the U.N.'s human rights body, which would cement a U.S. return to a Geneva-based body that was shunned by the Trump administration. The top U.S. diplomat said his country will seek a three-year...

The trial of seven people accused of involvement in the smuggling of former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn out of Japan has resumed in Turkey. The fourth hearing got underway on Wednesday in Istanbul. In the previous hearing, Turkish prosecutors sought the maximum possible 12 years in...

China is moving ahead with two more COVID-19 vaccines in the regulatory process, one from state-owned company Sinopharm and another from a private company CanSino. Both vaccines have submitted been to regulators for approval this week. CanSino said that Chinese regulators are reviewing...

Three people were killed over two days in clashes in the southeastern Iranian town of Saravan near the border with Pakistan, the semiofficial ILNA news agency reported. An angry mob stormed the district governor’s office Tuesday, a day after shootings of fuel smugglers at the border left...

Developments surrounding Iran's nuclear program are at a “critical point” and lifting sanctions on the country is key to breaking the deadlock, China's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. Spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s comments came a day after Iran officially began restricting international...

A former Syrian intelligence service agent was on Wednesday sentenced to four and a half years in jail for complicity in crimes against humanity in the first court case over state-sponsored torture by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government. Eyad al-Gharib, 44, was convicted of being...

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has prohibited the travel of ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions outside the capital Kinshasa without prior authorization from authorities. President Felix Tshisekedi made the decision late on Tuesday at the presidential palace during a...

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi and US President Joe Biden spoke by phone Tuesday, discussing a range of topics.  "I spoke to @POTUS today. We reaffirmed our commitment to bolstering Iraqi-US ties for the benefit of our peoples and cooperation in fighting Daesh to ensure...

Police in Australia and Canada arrested four people accused of trying to extort a senior Iraqi politician, after what was described Wednesday as a year-long campaign of intimidation. Dual raids were launched after a string of attacks on a Sydney home and online extortion attempts linked to...

 Renewed rocket attacks on US targets in Iraq show Iran-aligned factions are heaping pressure on the government while Tehran may be seeking leverage over America's new administration, analysts say. Iraq, scarred by decades of war and insurgency, has been a strategic battleground for...

Syria’s rebel-held northwest will receive its first shipment of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine by the end of next month, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. The doses were procured through the UN body’s Covax program, which aims to provide equitable worldwide access to...

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran officially started restricting international inspections of its nuclear facilities Tuesday, a bid to pressure European countries and President Joe Biden's administration to lift crippling economic sanctions and restore the 2015 nuclear deal. World powers slammed...

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Facebook announced Tuesday that it would lift a ban on Australians viewing and sharing news on its platform after it struck a deal with the government on proposed legislation that would make digital giants pay for journalism. The social media company caused...

Iran said Tuesday that it welcomes steps by the United States to ease tensions, adding that it considers Washington to be on a "constructive path." Government spokesman Ali Rabiei was responding to the Biden administration's decision to reverse former President Donald Trump's efforts to...