World / Middle East

More than 3,000 Syrians leave Ghouta to govt lines: Observatory 15 Mar 2018 - 02:31 pm

BEIRUT: More than 3,000 civilians fled the eastern Ghouta town of Hammouriyeh into territory held by the Syrian government as the army advanced...

Syria's war enters its eighth year 15 Mar 2018 - 02:28 pm

Beirut: From the bloody repression of peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad's regime to foreign intervention, below are key dates in Syria's civil...

Syrians stream out of rebel-held Ghouta town as army advances 15 Mar 2018 - 02:24 pm

BEIRUT/DAMASCUS: Hundreds of Syrians fled a rebel-held town in eastern Ghouta on Thursday and crossed by foot to government-held positions, as the army...

Erdogan "hopes" Afrin is liberated by this evening 14 Mar 2018 - 04:58 pm

Ankara: Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today he hopes the northwestern Syrian city of Afrin would be liberated from militants "by this...

Assad forces shell Turkish positions in Syria 14 Mar 2018 - 01:46 pm

BEIRUT: Pro-Syrian government forces shelled Turkish positions in northern Syria on Wednesday in response to a Turkish air strike that killed five of...

Syrian Observatory: air strike kills two commanders in eastern Ghouta rebel group 14 Mar 2018 - 10:47 am

BEIRUT: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday an air strike killed 12 members of the Failaq al-Rahman rebel group in...

Stability still elusive as Egypt's Sisi poised for second term 13 Mar 2018 - 08:38 pm

CAIRO: The attack by Islamic State came as Egypt's defence and interior ministers walked towards a helicopter waiting to fly them out of...

After painful wait, civilians evacuated from Syria's besieged Ghouta 13 Mar 2018 - 08:38 pm

Ghouta Wafideen Checkpoint, Syria: After a year-long wait, Syrian amputee Ratib Sheikh Bakri left the besieged Eastern Ghouta rebel enclave on Tuesday for...

Lebanon releases actor accused of collaborating with Israel 13 Mar 2018 - 07:05 pm

BEIRUT: A Lebanese stage actor was released on Tuesday and cleared of charges of collaborating with Israel and drug possession, while the officer...

Turkish bus hits truck, bursts into flames; 11 dead 13 Mar 2018 - 03:20 pm

ANKARA, Turkey: A passenger bus hit a truck and burst into flames in central Turkey on Tuesday, killing at least 11 people, including...

7 years on, Syria war shifting gears but still deadly 13 Mar 2018 - 02:11 pm

Beirut: Syria enters its eighth year of war on Thursday, free of the jihadist "caliphate" but torn apart by an international power struggle...

Iranian parliament votes to retain labor minister 13 Mar 2018 - 01:42 pm

TEHRAN, Iran: Iranian lawmakers on Tuesday voted to retain the country's labor minister after a hearing on his alleged mismanagement of unemployment and...

Turkish forces 'surround' Syrian Kurdish city 13 Mar 2018 - 01:35 pm

Beirut: Turkey said Tuesday its army and allied rebels had surrounded the Kurdish city of Afrin in northern Syria, raising the prospect of...

Baghdad ends air blockade of Iraqi Kurdistan 13 Mar 2018 - 12:46 pm

Baghdad: Iraqi authorities said Tuesday they had ended a nearly six-month air blockade imposed on Iraqi Kurdistan in response to its holding of...

Syrian forces press Ghouta advance despite calls to end 'bloodbath' 12 Mar 2018 - 09:27 pm

Douma, Syria, March 12, 2018 (AFP) - Syria's regime pressed its relentless offensive on Eastern Ghouta Monday as diplomats at the United Nations...

France will strike Syria chemical arms sites if used to kill: Macron 12 Mar 2018 - 05:17 pm

PARIS: France is prepared to launch targeted strikes against any site in Syria used to deploy chemical attacks that result in the deaths...

Syria's Douma faces catastrophe, says council, as assault grinds on 12 Mar 2018 - 02:10 pm

AMMAN/BEIRUT: Syria's rebel-held city of Douma faces a "catastrophic" situation after becoming the main haven for thousands of people fleeing advances by government...