Middle Orient

The world’s chemical weapons watchdog has said it will send a second team of inspectors to boost its programme to destroy Syria’s stockpile. The new team of experts, expected to reach Damascus on Wednesday, will expand on the work undertaken

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Syria was “very actively” cooperating with chemical weapons inspectors and suggested that Indonesia join international peace talks on the crisis. “Doubts about whether the Syrian leadership would adequately respond to the

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday night outlined his plan for the establishment of a chemical weapons mission with about 100 experts to destroy Syria’s chemical arsenal. The plan would mark the first time that the UN has carried out such a task in the midst of a civil …

The Director General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ahmet Uzumcu, is expected to give a press conference on Wednesday on the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons. “We had planned to organise this press conference tomorrow, Tuesday, but the event has now been moved back to …

Bombs exploded across the Iraqi capital on Oct. 7, killing at least 38 people, police said, as suspected Sunni Islamist militants pursued a campaign to provoke intercommunal conflict. Eight of the 10 blasts in Baghdad were in mainly Shi’ite districts, but there was also an explosion in a mixed area and another …

The head of NATO expressed concern Oct.7 over Turkey’s decision to co-produce a missile defense system with a Chinese firm, saying he expected Ankara to choose a system that was compatible with those of other allies. Turkey has said it is likely to sign a $3.4 billion missile defense deal with a Chinese firm …

The Turkish army has started building a wall alongside the Nusaybin district, bordering Syria, to prevent the illegal passing of immigrants, according to Turkish media. Construction vehicles are currently continuing the work at the border by Nusaybin, which is located right across from Syria’s Qamishli. The wall is set to be two-meters high, and will have barbed wire …

The United Nations expects another two million Syrians to become refugees in 2014. A further 2.25 million people are expected to be displaced within the country, according to a document obtained by Reuters on Monday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has dismissed accusations by embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that the Turkish government has been supporting “terrorists” to carry out attacks on the Syrian army and civilians, saying that the allegations are “false and meaningless.”

Experts of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) are commencing the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons in line with a relevant UN Security Council resolution and a US-Russian initiative. A source of the OCWA team said in news remarks the 33-member delegation was starting the task of …