India Thursday asked China to avoid raising the Kashmir dispute at the United Nations Security Council, insisting it is a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan. The government issued a statement Thursday, a day after China requested a review by the UN Security Council of the UN...

Mikhail Mishustin never had any political ambitions as a career bureaucrat and his name didn't come up as a top candidate to become Russia's next prime minister. But the 53-year-old Mishustin, the longtime chief of Russia's tax service, was tapped for the post by President Vladimir Putin....

Israeli authorities demolished homes in Palestinian areas of east Jerusalem at a significantly higher rate in 2019 than the previous year, according to an Israeli advocacy group. In a new report, Ir Amim said 104 housing units were demolished in 2019, compared() to 72 units in 2018. The 44%...

Lebanon's banking control commission has asked banks for the dates and sizes of transfers to Switzerland since Oct. 17, when the start of anti-government protests led banks to block transfers abroad, according to a circular seen on Thursday. The circular, dated Jan. 14, does not ask the...

The head of Libya's UN-recognised Government of National Accord, Fayez al-Sarraj, announced Thursday he would attend an international conference on Libya in Germany, his press office said. "We are going to be present in Berlin," where the conference is due to be held Sunday, Sarraj said...

French trade unions blocked ports and disrupted power production on Thursday, searching for a way to force President Emmanuel Macron to ditch a planned pension overhaul as the impact of transport strikes weakens. Ferry services to Britain suffered delays and at least 20 bulk carriers...

Turkey is beginning to send troops into Libya in support of the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday, days before a summit in Berlin which will address the Libyan conflict. Speaking in Ankara, Erdogan added that Turkey will continue to...

China has sent a new remote-sensing satellite into space, local media reported. Reportedly featuring "super-wide coverage" and "resolution at the sub-meter level", the new optical remote-sensing satellite meant for commercial use was launched into orbit from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center...

After years of political turmoil, Spaniards now swing between apprehension, antagonism and, in some cases, hope. Lawmakers appear to have settled political deadlock in the country for now, forming a coalition government woven between two left-wing parties and six smaller leftist and...

More and more civilians are losing their lives or getting displaced in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib as the regime, Iran-backed groups and Russia intensify airstrikes. A total of 313 civilians, including 100 children, were killed, 1,843 others injured and 382,466 Syrians were...

Germany's foreign minister headed to Libya Thursday to persuade strongman Khalifa Haftar to join an international conference on the conflict, as the UN urged support for the peace initiative. Heiko Maas said the Berlin conference -- scheduled for Sunday -- was "the best chance in a long...

 Yemeni separatists and forces loyal to the country's UN-recognized government whose deadly infighting erupted last summer in the war-torn Arab country are pulling back from a key southern city, military officials said Thursday. The pullout, envisaged under a Saudi-brokered peace deal,...

Pakistan's foreign minister on Thursday said the Taliban has shown "a willingness" to reduce violence in war-torn Afghanistan after more than 18 years fighting the US, sparking speculation that a potential breakthrough in talks with the Americans may be near. Negotiations between the...

With tweets of solidarity in Farsi and technological tools to circumvent internet shutdowns, U.S. President Donald Trump might be close to exhausting his options to support Iranian protesters rising up against their rulers. U.S. officials say the administration needs to avoid any overtures...

Japanese attorneys representing Carlos Ghosn, including lead lawyer Junichiro Hironaka, quit on Thursday following the former Nissan chief’s flight to Lebanon from Japan, where he had been fighting financial misconduct charges. In an emailed statement, Hironaka said that everyone involved...

Iran is now enriching more uranium than Tehran did before it agreed to a nuclear deal with world powers in 2015, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday in a televised speech. “We are enriching more uranium before the deal was reached ... Pressure has increased on Iran but we...

Intense fighting between pro-regime forces and jihadist-led fighters in Syria's Idlib province killed at least 39 fighters overnight, a war monitor said Thursday. The violence, which saw air strikes, shelling and ground combat, further buried a ceasefire announced by Russia on Sunday in...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian calligrapher Ayham Najar has become widely known in Germany within a few years of moving there as a refugee, painting with words the suffering of the Syrian people. After surviving arrest in Syria, Najar had fled with his family to Germany in 2016, after a...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- The Islamic State (ISIS) killed ten regime soldiers in a surprise attack in eastern Deir Ezzor province, pro-regime news feeds reported Wednesday. In the last few weeks, Daesh has carried out a series of attacks on regime forces and Iran-backed militias in a desert...

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday he had previously spoken to Japan’s prime minister about the conditions former Nissan-Renault boss Carlos Ghosn was being held under. After fleeing Japan in late December, Ghosn said he had been treated “brutally” by Tokyo prosecutors and...