Oil prices jumped more than 1 percent on Thursday, with Brent nearing $50 a barrel on optimism over OPEC's first planned output cut in eight years, although gains were limited as some analysts doubted the reduction would be enough to make a substantial dent in the global crude glut. The...

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Masoud Barzani, president of northern Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), have agreed on a military plan to retake the Daesh-held city of Mosul. "Discussions held with President Barzani today [Thursday] tackled the upcoming campaign to retake...

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will attend the funeral of former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres on Friday, according to a Palestinian official. "President Abbas will attend the funeral, along with a number of Palestinian officials," Mohamed al-Madani, a Palestine Liberation...

The United States is close to suspending talks with Russia on a ceasefire in Syria, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday, as the Kremlin vowed to press on with an assault on the city of Aleppo. Moscow and Damascus launched a campaign to recapture the rebel-held sector of...