Human Rights Watch called on the Turkish government Wednesday to investigate "serious abuses" allegedly committed by police and "nightwatchmen" against more than a dozen people in the southeast and in Istanbul. "The cases illustrate a worrying pattern of violent arrest, beatings, and other...

 (Zaman Al Wasl)- A rigged motorcycle exploded in northeastern Ras al-Ayn region, wounding two civilians, local activists told Zaman al-Wasl. The fourth attack in a week hit the main marketplace in the Turkish-held town. On Saturday, nine people killed in a car bomb rocked...

The exchange rate of the Syrian pound has a remarkable fall against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, for the third day in a row. The rate of trading of the Syrian pound against dollar in the opposition-held northern Idlib province was more than the rate in regime-held areas....

A half-dozen US states in the South and West reported one-day records for coronavirus deaths Tuesday and cases in Texas passed the 400,000 mark as California health officials said Latinos made up more than half its cases. Arkansas, California, Florida, Montana, Oregon and Texas each...

Muslim pilgrims, donning face masks and moving in small groups after days in isolation, began arriving to Islam’s holiest site in Mecca Wednesday for the start of a historically unique and scaled-down hajj experience reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic. The hajj is one of Islam's most...

China reported 101 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, its highest single-day figure in three months, as gyms, bars and museums closed in infection hotspots. Of the new cases, 98 were domestic infections, mostly in the northwestern region of Xinjiang, where a growing cluster first discovered...

Yemen’s leading separatist group will abandon its aspirations for self-rule to implement a stalled peace deal brokered by Saudi Arabia, it announced early Wednesday in a major step toward closing a dangerous rift between nominal allies in the chaotic proxy war. Nizar Haitham, a spokesman...

Turkey's parliament passed a law regulating social media on Wednesday, that critics said will increase censorship and help authorities silence dissent. President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party, which has a majority with an allied nationalist party, had backed the bill. The assembly began...

Panama hats and designer sunglasses, champagne buckets and luxury cars: in the mountain resort town of Faqra, Lebanon's economic crisis is not immediately obvious. Digging into a crunchy salad at an exclusive country club in the Lebanese mountains, Zeina el-Khalil said she was glad to have...

The Syrian Response Coordination Group said that the humanitarian organizations have not taken any significant action to help the people of Sarmin after two new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) were recorded and precautionary quarantine was applied in the region. The group called on...

 Italy’s upper house of parliament approved on Tuesday a request by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to extend until Oct. 15 a state of emergency, expanding his government’s powers as it tackles the coronavirus health crisis. Opposition parties had objected, accusing Conte of trying to...

Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards launched a military drill in the Gulf on Tuesday, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, at a time of high tension between Tehran and Washington. There have been periodic confrontations in the Gulf in recent years between the Guards and the U.S....

The United Nations said on Tuesday it was still waiting for Yemen’s Houthi group to authorize deployment of an assessment team to a decaying oil tanker that is threatening to spill 1.1 million barrels of crude oil off the war-torn country’s coast. Two weeks ago U.N. aid chief Mark Lowcock...

The novel coronavirus is neither seasonal, nor does it occur in waves, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday. WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said in answer to questions at the twice-weekly UN press briefing held virtually in Geneva that the COVID-19 virus likes all weathers...

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert who has led the country through multiple health crises for decades, defended his work Tuesday to protect Americans' health after the president retweeted a controversial video later removed by social media companies. "I have not...

First Abu Dhabi Bank, the United Arab Emirates' biggest lender, said Tuesday its net profits for the second quarter and first half of 2020 had plunged due to the impact of coronavirus. FAB's net profit for the second quarter of this year dropped 25 percent to $657 million compared to $872...

France called Tuesday for a UN-led observer mission to evaluate the treatment of China's Uighur population and accused Beijing of "indefensible practices" against the Muslim minority. The proposal by Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian comes as tensions rise between France and China after...

Pilgrims were quarantined Tuesday in the Muslim holy city of Mecca ahead of the dramatically downsized hajj as Saudi authorities strive to prevent a coronavirus outbreak during the five-day pilgrimage. Up to 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom will participate in the annual ritual...

An army general was killed and two soldiers wounded in a blast attack in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, pro-regime activists said Tuesday. Social media accounts have mourned Brig. Gen Hassan Hamoudi, originally from coastal Tartus province, saying he died 'defending his nation...

The leader of a major Christian group in Lebanon Tuesday blamed the militant group Hezbollah and its local allies led by President Michel Aoun for the rapidly deteriorating economy and worsening relations with neighboring Arab countries, saying the only solution is for them to leave power....