LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May said Saturday there was “no practicable alternative” to the use of force in Syria as she announced Britain had joined France and the United States in launching strikes against Syria. “This evening I have authorised British armed forces to conduct co-ordinated and targeted strikes to degrade the Syrian regime’s…

DAMASCUS: The United States, Britain and France launched punitive military strikes against Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime in response to its latest alleged chemical weapons atrocity, President Donald Trump announced Friday. Shortly after Trump began a White House address to announce the action, large explosions were heard in the Syrian capital Damascus, signalling a new chapter…

LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron late Friday and agreed to “keep working closely” on a response to an alleged Syrian chemical attack, her office said. “The prime minister spoke to the French president Emmanuel Macron this evening about the horrific attack in Douma, Syria, on Saturday,” a Downing…

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has not yet made his “final decision” on how to respond to an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria, the White House said Thursday after he met with his top national security advisors. Trump was to confer with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May later in…

LONDON: The British government on Thursday agreed on the “need to take action” alongside the US and France over a chemical weapons attack in Syria, Prime Minister Theresa May’s office said. “Cabinet agreed on the need to take action to alleviate humanitarian distress and to deter the further use of chemical weapons by the Assad…

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US counterpart Donald Trump discussed the crisis in Syria during a telephone conversation late on Wednesday, a Turkish presidential source said. Erdogan and Trump “exchanged views on the latest developments in Syria,” the source added, without providing further details. The talks come after Trump warned Russia over its…

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that “missiles will be coming” in response to an alleged chemical attack in Syria, raising the stakes in an increasingly perilous face-off with Russia. With punitive US military action seemingly imminent, Russia scrambled to deflect blame from its ally Bashar al-Assad and, according to a monitor group, Syrian…

UNITED NATIONS: Russia on Tuesday vetoed a US-drafted United Nations Security Council resolution that would have set up an investigation into chemical weapons use in Syria following an alleged toxic gas attack in rebel-held Douma. It was the 12th time that Russia has used its veto power at the council to block action targeting its…

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump warned Monday that Damascus and Moscow may be forced to pay for the latest alleged chemical weapons atrocity of the Syrian civil war, promising a decision on military action within hours. The US leader met with his cabinet and then dined with top generals, telling reporters “we have a lot of options…

JERUSALEM: Israel on Monday accused Syria of “crimes against humanity” over an alleged chemical attack on a rebel-held town, saying President Bashar al-Assad’s regime was responsible. “Israel strongly condemns the chemical weapons strike carried out by Syria on April 7, one year after the mass murder carried out by the regime in Khan Sheikun,” a…

UNITED NATIONS: US Ambassador Nikki Haley on Monday urged the United Nations Security Council to act following the latest alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria, warning the United States was ready to respond. Russia said a US military strike against Syria would have “grave repercussions” and stressed that the use of chlorine or sarin had…

AL-WAFIDEEN: Evacuations of rebels and civilians from the last opposition pocket in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta stalled on Thursday as divisions continued within the Islamist faction that holds the area, state media said. A convoy of 20 buses organised by the government had entered the former rebel bastion’s main town of Douma to prepare for a…

WASHINGTON: The crown prince and de facto leader of Saudi Arabia said Israel has a “right” to a homeland, a notable shift in the kingdom’s position published Monday. Saudi Arabia and Israel still have no formal diplomatic relations, but behind the scenes, improvements in their ties have accelerated in recent years. Both countries see Iran…

Israel’s defense minister rejected on Sunday calls for an inquiry into the killing of 15 Palestinians by the military during a Palestinian demonstration that turned violent on Friday at the Gaza-Israel border, reported Reuters Hamas, the dominant Palestinian group in Gaza, said five of the dead were members of its armed wing. Israel said eight…

UNITED NATIONS: The United States on Saturday blocked a draft UN Security Council statement urging restraint and calling for an investigation of clashes on the Gaza-Israel border that left 16 dead, diplomats said. Clashes erupted as tens of thousands of Gazans protested near the border on Friday, with Israeli forces using tear gas and live…

GAZA CITY: Clashes erupted as tens of thousands of Gazans marched near the Israeli border in a major protest on Friday, leaving 16 Palestinians dead and hundreds more wounded in the conflict’s worst single day of violence since the 2014 Gaza war. Late in the day, Israel’s military targeted three Hamas sites in the Gaza…

RIYADH: Saudi forces intercepted a missile over the capital Riyadh late Sunday, in an apparent Huthi rebel attack which coincides with the third anniversary of the Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in Yemen. Witnesses reported loud explosions and bright flashes in the sky, but there were no immediate reports on any casualties. “Saudi air defence forces intercept…

DAMASCUS: Rockets fired by rebels on the outskirts of Damascus killed a young Syrian footballer and wounded seven others on Saturday as they were training in the capital, state media said. SANA said the rockets hit a sports club in the capital’s Mazraa neighbourhood, which also hosts the Russian embassy. Mohsen Abbas, the president of…

BEIRUT: A Syrian rebel group which still controls a pocket of the Eastern Ghouta enclave on Thursday announced a ceasefire from midnight to allow negotiations with the regime’s ally Russia, a spokesman for the faction said. The announcement was made after air raids targeted the part of southern Ghouta under the control of the Faylaq…

DOUMA: Syrian rebels said Wednesday they have agreed to evacuate a bombed-out town in Eastern Ghouta, the first such deal since the start of the regime’s month-old assault on the enclave. In Idlib province of northwest Syria, meanwhile, an air raid near a school in the town of Kfar Batikh killed 20 civilians, including 16…

WASHINGTON: The US Senate on Tuesday rejected a bipartisan bid to end American involvement in Yemen’s civil war, voting down a rare effort to overrule presidential military authorization. The vote addressing American war powers had aimed to shut down US military involvement in Yemen within a month unless Congress formally authorized continued involvement. Senators voted…