Jordan, home to many Islamic and Christian holy sites, hopes a visit this month by Pope Francis will promote religious tourism and boost an industry hit hard by regional turmoil. Tourism contributes 12 percent of gross domestic product in the desert kingdom and last year saw...

War and drought have crippled Syria's wheat crop, with some experts now forecasting output of the staple food could fall to around a third of pre-war levels, and possibly even below 1 million metric tons ( 1 metric ton = 1.1023 tons) for the first time in 40 years, Reuters said in an...

The United Nations' atomic watchdog said Sunday it would hold talks with Iran to discuss its long-stalled probe into Tehran's alleged past efforts to develop nuclear weapons. "IAEA and Iranian officials will meet on Monday in Vienna for further discussions within the Framework...

Four Palestinian refugees have been detained in Sri Lanka for more than two weeks and risk being expelled back to Syria, according to a human rights group. The Palestinian League for Human Rights - Syria says the four men were stopped at Sri Lanka's international airport on...