Turkish-bakced Syrian forces have thwarted an attack by Kurdish YPG militia in northeastern Ras al-Ayn region, a military source told Zaman al-Wasl Monday. The third infiltration attempt in a week into Ras al-Ayn was fended off by National Army fighters as YPG sleeper cells try to carry...

As one of the world's top tourist destinations, Spain was hoping to salvage the summer by billing itself as a safe haven from the pandemic. But with infections surging, all bets are off. Britain's decision late on Saturday to impose quarantine on all travellers coming from Spain represents...

President Donald Trump's national security advisor, Robert O'Brien, has tested positive for COVID-19, the White House said Monday. O'Brien, who holds a key role in the administration, "has been self-isolating and working from a secure location off site," the White House said in a statement....

A UN grain store that symbolised aid agencies' struggle to navigate the front lines of Yemen's war has finally been emptied and distributed to a starving population almost two years after fighting cut access, the UN food agency said Monday. The Red Sea Mills, a milling facility rented by...

Germany came under pressure on Monday to introduce mandatory coronavirus testing for holidaymakers returning from high-risk countries to prevent driving up infections in Europe’s largest economy. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff said he was concerned about the rising number of...

Israel on Monday reported a "security incident" on the Lebanese border leading to an exchange of fire, amid heightened tensions with Hezbollah. Explosions and gunfire were reported in the Shebaa Farms border area of the Israeli-Lebanese border, after suspected clashes between with Hezbollah...

The son of former Saudi deputy Finance Minister and writer Abdulaziz Al-Dakhil revealed that his father is currently being detained by authorities in a prison south of the kingdom's capital Riyadh. Al-Dakhil was detained last Ramadan, along with two others, for paying tribute to reformist...

Despite protests, the removal of two murals designed by Pablo Picasso began on Monday from an Oslo government building damaged in right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik's 2011 attack, a project manager said. The "Y Block", a government building complex named for its shape, is scheduled...

Oil prices edged higher on Monday helped by a weak dollar and expected U.S. stimulus measures but gains were capped by rising global coronavirus cases and tensions between the United States and China. Brent crude LCOc1 rose 32 cents, or 0.7%, to $43.66 a barrel by 1205 GMT, while U.S. West...

 A section of a mosque in the occupied West Bank was set on fire on Monday, and Palestinian officials accused Israeli settlers of being behind the attack. “The Land of Israel for the People of Israel,” read part of a slogan sprayed in Hebrew on the mosque’s wall, a reference to a...

Spain’s foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said on Monday it was important that Turkey’s Hagia Sophia remains part of humanity’s shared global heritage, after it was reconverted into a mosque from a museum last week. “For us it is important that the spirit of this great monument of...

The new coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 16 million people is easily the worst global health emergency the World Health Organization (WHO) has faced, its director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday. Only with strict adherence to health measures, from wearing...

Held for years in regime prisons, Ali Khatip, a lawyer, cannot forget his moments in the torture dungeons in Syria. In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Khatip, from Syria's northwestern Idlib who was subjected to severe torture in regime prisons for about seven years, recalled the inhumane...

More than 1,280 Afghan civilians have been killed in the first six months of the year as fighting rages in Afghanistan despite a pact between the United States and Taliban militants, the United Nations said Monday. The violence, mainly between Afghan government forces and the Taliban,...

Everyone in Hong Kong will have to wear masks in public from Wednesday, authorities said, as they unveiled the city's toughest social distancing measures yet to combat a new wave of coronavirus infections. "The epidemic situation in Hong Kong is remarkably severe," Chief Secretary Matthew...

Two demonstrators died in Baghdad early Monday after being shot in confrontations with security forces, the first victims of protest-related violence under a new Iraqi premier who had promised a dialogue with activists. The deaths threaten to reignite an unprecedented movement slamming...

China on Monday reported its highest number of coronavirus cases in three months, part of a worrying swell of second and third-wave infections that are hitting Asia and Europe. Australia has been rocked by its deadliest surge since the start of the pandemic, Hong Kong is experiencing record...

Iran has moved a mock aircraft carrier to the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the US, satellite photographs released Monday show, likely signalling the Islamic Republic soon plans to use it for live-fire drills. An image from Maxar Technologies taken...

The deputy leader of Hezbollah dismissed Sunday the prospect of an escalation of violence between the group and Israel despite increased tensions in the last week. "The atmosphere does not indicate a war ... It's unlikely, the atmosphere of war in the next few months," Sheikh Naim Qassem...

Syrian businessman Rami Makhlouf revealed Sunday he had set up a web of offshore front companies to help President Bashar al Assad evade Western sanctions, in a social media post blasting the government for investigating his business empire. One of Syria's richest and most powerful...