It is long forgotten that some Middle East nations, including now war-torn Syria, hosted European refugees during World War II.   Civilians from Eastern Europe and the Balkans migrated to the Middle East, crossing the Mediterranean Sea and Turkey to escape the Nazi and Soviet...

The death toll from the novel coronavirus outbreak in China rose to 3,014 Thursday, according to the National Health Commission. The commission said 31 more people died in the last 24 hours while 139 new cases were detected by authorities, with the total number of confirmed cases reaching...

A summit between the Turkish and Russian leaders on Thursday may be the last chance to work out a deal that avoids further calamity in Syria’s northwest. Faced with mounting losses for his troops in Syria's Idlib province and a potential wave of refugees fleeing the fighting, Turkish...

  (Zaman Al Wasl)- An overnight Russian air strike on a displaced center in northern Idlib province has killed 16 people, including women and children, rescue agency said Thursday. The White Helmets said 16 civilians were killed and 18 others injured in the attack on the town...

Israeli fighter jets fired missiles towards military positions in central Syria early on Thursday, according to Syrian state media and an opposition war monitor. State news agency SANA said that Israeli warplanes launched the missiles while flying over Lebanon's airspace, and reported...

Russia is racing to reinforce its troops in Syria by sea and air before talks between the Russian and Turkish leaders in Moscow on Thursday, flight data and shipping movements show. The two presidents, Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdogan, agreed to meet after a surge in tensions between their...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Turkish-backed opposition forces seized a strategic town and a hilltop in the western countryside of Aleppo, local activists said Wednesday. Backed by heavy artillery fire, the National Army has taken the town of Sheikh Aqeel and the al-Arqam hilltop northwest of Aleppo...

Ukraine's parliament approved Denys Shmygal as the new prime minister on Wednesday after his predecessor resigned following a leak of a recording where he criticised President Volodymyr Zelensky. Analysts say Zelensky was unhappy with the government's handling of the economy and its...

Coronavirus has spread to almost all of Iran’s provinces but the country will get through the outbreak with a “minimum” number of deaths, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday. “This disease is a widespread disease,” he said during a cabinet meeting, according to the official...

 Palestinians have launched protests in the occupied West Bank after Israeli bulldozers began clearing land in what villagers fear is an attempt to confiscate it for future Jewish settlements. Scuffles intensified this week as Israeli voters voted in an election, with Palestininans...

Tunisia will suspend passenger ferry services to northern Italy and take other measures in response to the spreading coronavirus, Health Minister Abdelatif el-Mekki said on Wednesday. Tunisia confirmed its first case of the coronavirus on Monday, a Tunisian national who had recently arrived...

A fight broke out in the Turkish parliament between lawmakers from opposing parties Wednesday during a tense discussion about Turkey's military involvement in northwest Syria. Video images showed dozens of legislators from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party and from the main opposition...

Billionaire Mike Bloomberg ended his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday and endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden. It was a stunning collapse for the former New York City mayor, who had his 2020 hopes on the Super Tuesday states and drained more than $500 million of...

The Kremlin said on Wednesday it hoped Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan would be able to agree on a set of joint measures for the Syrian province of Idlib when they meet for talks in Moscow on Thursday. "We plan to discuss the Idlib crisis... We expect...

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said it had foiled an attack on an oil tanker off the country’s coast, the Saudi state news agency SPA reported on Wednesday. The tanker was sailing toward the Gulf of Aden when it was targeted by four boats, with one of the unmanned vessels “trying...

Israel appeared headed into another political stalemate on Wednesday after nearly-complete results indicated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had failed to secure a clear majority for a right-wing bloc in parliament, despite his claim of victory. With 99% of votes counted, Netanyahu’s...

European Union foreign ministers meeting for emergency talks on Turkey and Syria on Friday will offer 60 million euros in additional humanitarian aid for the northeastern province of Idlib, according to diplomatic sources in the bloc. Idlib has been the latest flash-point in the...

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday dismissed a US offer to help the Islamic republic fight its coronavirus outbreak, charging that "vicious" American sanctions are depriving the country of medicine. Iran has scrambled to halt the rapid spread of the virus that has claimed 92 lives...

 Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Wednesday that the oil market was facing a surplus and needed to be balanced, SHANA, the news site of the Iranian oil ministry, reported. “There is no doubt that there is an imbalance in the supply and demand of oil. Right now, the supply in...

Egypt executed Wednesday one of its most high-profile militant leaders, the military said, after his conviction for his role in planning scores of deadly attacks against the country's security forces. Hisham al-Ashmawi, a former Egyptian special forces officer turned Islamic militant, was...