After taking control over the 41st Regiment, Russia continues to prevent civilians from returning to their homes in Western Harasta, the key suburb in Eastern Ghouta enclave near the capital, local media network reported. Sawt al-Asima network confirmed that the security...

After waking up on Friday, the day he turned 15, Palestinian Ali Ayman Nasr Abu Aliya told his mother Nihad he was hoping for a birthday surprise. Nihad said she had planned to serve maqluba, a traditional lamb and rice dish, at a party later on and had his gifts ready, including a new pair...

President-elect Joe Biden on Monday named the team tasked with turning around the United States' floundering efforts to quell the Covid-19 pandemic, nominating Xavier Becerra as his secretary of health. When Biden takes office on January 20, his health team will be immediately responsible...

Russia on Monday started mass vaccination against the novel coronavirus throughout the country. The Russians are being immunized with the Sputnik V vaccine, developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. People of social professions, including teachers...

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday hosted his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad in Tehran, in the top diplomat's first official visit abroad. During their meeting, the two discussed "bilateral, regional and international issues, as well as the joint fight against...

 France, Germany and Britain said on Monday they were alarmed by an Iranian announcement that it intended to install additional, advanced uranium-enriching centrifuges and by legislation that could expand its nuclear programme. “If Iran is serious about preserving a space for...

France welcomed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi with a cavalry parade through Paris on Monday, but the countries’ hopes of nurturing ties on the trip were overshadowed by a furore over Cairo’s rights record. Both states - which share concerns about instability across the Sahel,...

Libyan Defense Minister Salahaddin Namroush has threatened to withdraw from a ceasefire agreement in Libya over practices of warlord Khalifa Haftar. "We warn the UN and peace-supporting countries that if they don't curb war criminal Haftar and stop his recklessness, we may withdraw from the...

Lebanon on Monday released a Lebanese-French businessman who has been on the run from French authorities since June, but banned him from travel pending investigation, a Lebanese judicial source said. Lebanese security forces detained Ziad Takieddine last week at the request of Interpol....

An official close to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has denied rumours on social media that the top authority's health was deteriorating, the semi official Fars news agency reported on Monday. "By the grace of God and with the good prayers of devotees, the Gentleman (Ayatollah...

Post-Brexit trade talks hung in the balance on Monday as Britain and the European Union made a last-ditch attempt to bridge significant differences and reach a deal that would avoid a disorderly exit in just 24 days. With growing fears of no-deal chaos after the United Kingdom finally...

Strolling through the alleyways of war-torn Syria's capital, Rania Kataf snaps photos of the city's famed houses, capturing their nooks and crannies for posterity. After seeing how vulnerable they had become during the country's devastating civil war, the 35-year-old began creating a...

President Donald Trump says his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani has tested positive for the coronavirus, making him the latest in Trump's inner circle to contract the disease that is now surging across the U.S. Giuliani was exhibiting some symptoms and was admitted Sunday to Georgetown...

Trade between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel could grow to at least $5 billion, the chairman of Dubai's biggest port operator said on Monday. "We estimate at least $5 billion of trade will happen between our countries in the beginning and this will grow," DP World chairman Sultan...

Candidates supporting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro have secured control of the national congress, the electoral board said on Monday, after a parliamentary election which opposition leaders boycotted because of what they said was fraud. The electoral board's president, Indira...

A satellite-controlled machine gun with "artificial intelligence" was used in last week's assassination of a top nuclear scientist in Iran, the deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards told local media Sunday. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was driving on a highway outside Iran's capital Tehran...

An emotional Sergio Perez said his remarkable maiden victory at the 190th attempt in Sunday's Sakhir Grand Prix had given him "a bit more peace" as he contemplates his enforced exit from Formula One next year. The 30-year-old Mexican drove from last position, after a first-lap collision, to...

  The Syrian regime forces have ordered al-Qatirji militia to smuggle more wheat from the Kurdish-controlled eastern areas through the Euphrates river crossings in eastern Deir Ezzor province, local news site reported Sunday. According to the Ain Al-Furat network, the regime...

Russian-backed Fifth Corps said Sunday that huge quantities of drugs had been seized in southern Daraa province. The Eight Brigade, key unit in the Fifth Corps, stated that Lebanese Hezbollah militia is behind the trade of the large amount of narcotic substances seized by one of its...

Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region is too volatile for aid to reach hundreds of thousands of civilians in need, humanitarian workers said on Sunday, amid reports of persistent fighting, looting and lawlessness. Aid agencies have warned of a lack of food, medication and body bags in Tigray,...