Peace talks being prepared later this month in the Kazakh capital of Astana should aim to consolidate Syria's cease-fire and pave the way for wider U.N.-backed negotiations in February, the U.N. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura said Thursday. Turkey and Russia brokered the Dec. 30 cessation...

French authorities have stepped up their investigation into accusations that members of the far right National Front tricked the European Parliament out of several hundred thousand euros paid to legislative aides. Party members are accused of using assistants for political activity even...

(BBC)- The Iraqi military says it has launched a new offensive aimed at re-capturing western towns near the Syrian border from the jihadist group Islamic State. The operation will involve army and federal police units, along with tribal fighters. Their main targets are the towns of...

Apple has removed the New York Times from its China app store, the tech giant said, after authorities told the company the app breached regulations. The US newspaper said both its English- and Chinese-language apps were pulled late last month, blocking one of the few remaining channels for...