Bashar Assad

Syrian President Bashar Assad met in his palace in Damascus, the national football team, which did not get to qualify for the World Cup 2018.

The team was a step from the becoming part of the World Cup, but a 1:2 loss against Australia in the second  match between the two teams deprived them of the dream of a first World Cup.

Israel plans to follow the example of the United States and leave UNESCO, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, reports Sega. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is preparing to withdraw from UNESCO after the "the brave and moral decision" that Washington announced earlier today, the Associated Press reported.

Turkey, Russia and Iran have agreed Friday on the borders of the de-escalation zones, including the main opposition-held region of Idlib, at the Syria peace talks in Kazakh capital Astana, reported Daily Sabah. 

The talks will continue in regard to which forces will be deployed in Idlib, Turkey's official Anadolu Agency quoted diplomatic sources.

The Israeli army begins the largest military exercise in 19-year around the northern border, during which tens of thousands of soldiers will work out variants of a military campaign against the Lebanese Hezbollah movement.

Russia is hopeful that the new weapons it tested for the first time in Syria will lead to a spike in arms sales abroad, officials have said.

A senior Israeli official warned the Russian government that if Iran continues to extend its reach in Syria, Israel will bomb Syrian President Bashar Assad’s palace in Damascus, according to reports in Arab media.

Thirteen animals that had been trapped in harsh conditions in a zoo in the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo were evacuated on Aug. 11 to a wildlife reserve in Jordan.
                   
Five lions, two tigers, two bears, two hyenas and two dogs were being released into the Al-Ma'wa reserve near the town of Souf in northern Jordan.
                   

The Trump administration slapped financial sanctions on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Monday after a weekend election that gave the South American country's ruling party virtually unlimited powers, reported USA TODAY. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a federal law on the ratification of the protocol and agreement on the establishment of Syrian Army Air Force for a period of 49 years, TASS reported, citing Russia's official legal information portal.

Russia has deployed military police to monitor the cease-fire in a safe zone in the eastern suburbs of Syria's Damascus, the chief of the Russian General Staff said on Monday, according to ABC News.