Iraq's premier-designate Mohammad Allawi announced Saturday he would submit his cabinet to a parliamentary vote within days, promising it would be stacked with "independents," a key demand of influential cleric Moqtada Sadr. The country's capital and Shiite-majority south have been rocked...

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Saturday no private messages or direct contact had taken place to ease tensions with Iran and that Tehran first needed to change its behavior before talks can happen. “Until we can talk about the real sources of that instability, talk is going to be...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Saturday discussed with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump ways to end the crisis in Idlib, Syria's last major rebel bastion, and condemned Damascus' attacks there, the Turkish presidency said. "Stressing that the regime's most recent attacks are...

The US State Department on Saturday condemned the detention in Venezuela of an uncle of opposition leader Juan Guaido, saying the man was being held on "preposterous charges." "The United States strongly condemns the detention of Juan Jose Marquez, uncle of interim President Juan Guaido,...

(Eqtsad)- From where is the Syrian currency entering the opposition-held northwestern areas, specifically the newly issued 2,000-pound banknote and how exactly did it invade the markets so quickly?  These questions have dominated the Syrian North for the past weeks, especially with...

Syrian regime troops began clearing barricades from the main highway between Damascus and Aleppo on Saturday after recovering full control of the road in a Russian-backed offensive, Syrian state-run media reported. It marks a major gain for President Bashar al-Assad, as reopening the M5...

Turkish security forces have destroyed 903 mines and 1,720 improvised explosives in areas under its latest anti-terror operation in northern Syria, the country's National Defense Ministry said on Saturday. On Oct. 9, Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring to eliminate terrorists from...

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Saturday that a truce agreement between the United States and the Taliban that could lead to the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan is not without risk but "looks very promising." Ahead of a formal announcement of the seven-day "reduction...

A Saudi fighter jet crashed in conflict-torn Yemen, the Riyadh-led military coalition said Saturday, as the Huthi rebels said they downed the plane. The Tornado aircraft came down on Friday in northern Al-Jawf province during an operation to support Yemeni government forces, the coalition...

Turkey on Saturday hit back at Russian accusations of failing to honour a 2018 deal by insisting it carried out its responsibilities in Idlib, Syria's last major rebel bastion. "Observation posts were set up and the regime had to stay outside of this area. Russia and Iran were to ensure the...

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu accused Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar on Saturday of constantly violating a ceasefire in the country, saying he “must be stopped” so a political solution could be found. Turkey backs the internationally-recognized government of Fayez...

Four people were killed in two separate attacks in eastern Iraq on Saturday, according to a local police officer.  Daesh/ISIS militants attacked a police checkpoint in Buhriz, south of Diyala province, killing two policemen, captain Habib al-Shimari told Anadolu Agency. He said a...

Yemen's Houthi rebels said Saturday dozens were killed in Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in northern Yemen.  "Thirty people were killed as an initial death toll as a result of the raids," Yusuf al-Hadiri, a spokesman for the Houthi-run Health Ministry, said in statements cited by...

Egypt confirmed Friday its first coronavirus case and said the affected person was a foreigner who had been put into isolation at hospital. The health ministry said in a statement that it had immediately informed the World Health Organization and had taken all necessary preventative...

Top U.S. officials fired a fresh broadside at Huawei on Saturday, warning the Chinese tech giant posed a threat to NATO if allies allowed it to build new 5G communications networks. Washington has been pressing European allies hard to ban Huawei, one of the world's largest tech firms, from...

Iranians vote next week in a crucial parliamentary election that is widely expected to herald the return of conservatives and heap pressure on beleaguered President Hassan Rouhani. Friday's vote comes after months of steeply escalating tensions between Iran and its decades-old arch enemy...

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday rejected European pessimism about Washington's retreat from the global stage, saying the death of the transatlantic bond had been "grossly overexaggerated". "The West is winning and we're winning together," Pompeo told the Munich Security...

The U.S. Court of International Trade has issued a temporary order under which U.S. customs agents cannot collect duties from a U.S. company under President Donald Trump’s recently-announced expansion of steel and aluminum tariffs. PrimeSource Building Products had challenged Trump’s...

The US Embassy in Japan announced that Americans aboard the Diamond Princess – a luxury cruise ship quarantined off the coast of Japan after a coronavirus outbreak on board – will be flown back home on a chartered flight on Sunday. About 380 Americans are aboard the ship, which has docked...

“Patience,” Mohammed Eissa told himself. He whispered it every time he felt like giving up. The sun was brutal, reflecting off the thick layer of salt encrusting the barren earth around Lac Assal, a lake 10 times saltier than the ocean. Nothing grows here. Birds are said to fall dead out...