Israel on Friday released two prisoners, including one jailed for spying for Syria, in what it called a goodwill gesture for the Russian-assisted repatriation of the body of a long-missing Israeli soldier last year. Russia, a key ally of Syria, in April handed Israel the remains and...

Russia and Turkey have announced a ceasefire in Syria's Idlib province, paving the way for a pause in continuing government-led bombardment in the country's last rebel-held stronghold, while allowing the delivery of humanitarian aid. "According to the agreements with the Turkish side,...

Air strikes against trucks and weapons depots in eastern Syria killed eight fighters of Iraq's Hashd al-Shaabi militia force overnight, according to a UK-based activist group. Lebanon's Al-Mayadeen news outlet said Israel was responsible for the strikes early on Friday in Albu Kamal on...

 (Zaman Al Wasl)- The Turkish Army backed by the Syrian National Army on Friday have stepped up aerial and ground bombardment on Kurdish-led forces in northeastern Syria, following the killing of four Turkish soldiers. Local activists said the Turkish bombing had targeted the...

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has accepted an invitation from Iran to take part in its investigation into the crash of a Ukrainian airplane in Tehran, the agency confirmed late on Thursday. The NTSB said in a statement its Response Operations Center had received...

Iran could have nuclear weapons in one to two years if the country carries on violating the 2015 nuclear accord, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Friday. “If they continue with unravelling the Vienna agreement, then yes, within a fairly short period of time, between one...

Iran on Friday denied being responsible for the downing of a Ukraine International Airlines jet that crashed Wednesday in Tehran, calling the allegation a lie and psychological operation of the U.S., the state-run IRNA news agency reported. In a statement, government spokesman Ali Rabiei...

Nearly one in three adults in Hong Kong reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder during months of often violent social unrest in the city, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal Friday. And around one in 10 had symptoms of probable depression, figures...

(Reuters) - Iranian General Qassem Soleimani arrived at the Damascus airport in a vehicle with dark-tinted glass. Four soldiers from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards rode with him. They parked near a staircase leading to a Cham Wings Airbus A320, destined for Baghdad.  Neither Soleimani nor...

The landmark 2015 deal between Tehran and world powers aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons has been teetering on the edge of collapse since the United States pulled out unilaterally in 2018. The European Union says it will “spare no effort” to keep the deal alive, but with...

Supporters of allowing humanitarian aid deliveries to Syria through three border crossings called for a vote Friday on a U.N. Security Council resolution similar to one that Russia and China vetoed on Dec. 30 despite strong support from other council members. The council's mandate for...

Iranian newspapers proclaimed the country's attack on U.S. forces in Iraq to be "a dark night for Americans," and Washington's "first admission of failure in history." On the bustling streets of Tehran, however, there was relief Thursday that neither side appeared primed for war. “War...

Two rockets reportedly landed in Iraq’s heavily fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad early Thursday, where the U.S. embassy is located. Warning sirens could be heard blaring near the embassy compound, according to security sources. No further details were available.

Video footage of the area around Jeffrey Epstein's jail cell on a day he apparently tried to kill himself “no longer exists,” federal prosecutors told a judge Thursday. Officials at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York believed they had preserved footage of guards finding...

Iran spurned the U.S. president’s call for a new nuclear pact and its commanders threatened more attacks as the Middle East remained on edge following the U.S. killing of an Iranian general and Tehran’s retaliatory missile strikes. Concern the war-scarred region was primed for a wider...

A Ukraine airliner that crashed in Iran, killing all 176 people aboard, was most likely brought down accidentally by Iranian air defenses, U.S. officials said on Thursday, as President Donald Trump said he had a terrible feeling about the disaster. One U.S. official said U.S. satellites had...

 U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she did not believe President Donald Trump's administration had made the United States safer by killing Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. "I do not believe in terms of what is in the public domain that they...

 (Zaman Al Wasl)- Two civilians were killed Thursday when two rebel factions engaed in firece fighting in northern Aleppo province, activists told Zaman al-Wasl. The clashes erupted between Jaish Ahrar al-Sahrqiya and Ahrar al-Sham movement in the border town of al-Baba. 

 (Zaman Al Wasl)- A Syrian intelligence agent has kidnapped and tortured to death three former rebels in revenge for his brother death last week in southern Daraa province, activists told Zaman al Wasl on Thursday.  Despite Russia-brokered reconciliation deals in the cradle...

Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido called on supporters to rally Thursday against the government of President Nicolas Maduro in a bid to rekindle popular momentum against an "illegitimate" leader. Guaido urged a new round of protests after he was sworn in earlier this week for...