Gunmen have kidnapped two Turkish nationals from their hotel in southern Nigeria's oil-rich Akwa Ibom state, police said Tuesday in the latest unrest to hit the restive Niger Delta. "Two Turkish nationals working for a construction company in Onna local government area were abducted from...

A strong blast rocked Turkey's largest Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakir Tuesday near the riot police headquarters, just days before a key referendum on boosting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's powers. The blast could be heard in several areas of the southeastern city, an AFP journalist...

Almost half of Germany's first-time voters back Angela Merkel, a poll by the Forsa Institut showed Tuesday, providing a strong backbone of support for the chancellor as she prepares to bid for a fourth term in office in September. Among all potential voters, Merkel had 43 percent support,...

The Group of Seven major global powers will be joined by Middle East allies on Tuesday in a push to isolate Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, hours before the U.S. secretary of state flies to Moscow, Assad's top backer. G7 foreign ministers hosted by Italy invited their counterparts from...

British Prime Minister Theresa May spoke on Monday to U.S. President Donald Trump and agreed that "a window of opportunity" exists to persuade Russia to break ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, May's office said. A spokeswoman for the prime minister said Trump had thanked May for...

The prime suspect in the Stockholm truck attack has demanded that his state-appointed lawyer be replaced with a Sunni Muslim -- a request that was refused, according to court documents seen Monday. Rakhmat Akilov, a 39-year-old Uzbek national believed to have sympathised with extremist...

The leaders of southern EU nations said Monday that a US missile strike on a Syrian air base in retaliation for a suspected chemical attack was "understandable," as diplomatic tensions mount over the incident. Gathered at a summit in Madrid on the EU as Britain prepares to leave the bloc,...

( The Guardian )- Vladimir Putin is “toxifying the image of Russia” by backing Bashar al-Assad and the G7 must consider fresh sanctions against Russia and Syria in response to last week’s chemical attack on civilians, Boris Johnson has said. The foreign secretary, speaking as he prepared to...

 More than 200 people have traveled from Germany to fight with Kurdish militias against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, the interior ministry reported Monday. Sixty-nine of the 204 fighters are German nationals, the ministry added in a statement on the issue which is particularly delicate for...

The United States will hold responsible anyone who commits crimes against humanity, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Monday, days after the U.S. military unexpectedly attacked Syria. Tillerson is in Italy for a meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) major...

Pope Francis will visit Egypt as planned this month despite the weekend bombings of two Coptic Christian churches that killed 44 people, a Vatican official said. "There is no doubt the Holy Father will maintain his offer to go to Egypt" on April 28 and 29, Monsignor Angelo Becciu, the Holy...

( The New Arab )- A rocket fired from the Sinai peninsula landed in southern Israel on Monday, with tensions high in the area following two deadly church bombings in Egypt. The rocket landed in the Eskhol regional council, causing no injuries or damage, Israel's army said. No group has...

Russia should end its support for "toxic" Syrian President Bashar Assad, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Monday ahead of a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Italy. "It's time for (Russian President) Vladimir Putin to face the truth about the tyrant he is propping up," Johnson...

Israel took the unusual step Monday of barring its citizens from crossing into Egypt's Sinai peninsula, saying the threat of attacks in the area inspired by ISIS and other extremist groups was high. Minutes after the ban was announced, the Israeli military said a rocket was launched from the...

Egyptian Christians wept with rage on Monday as they recovered the bodies of loved ones killed in twin church bombings, furious at a state they believe will no longer protect them from neighbors bent on their murder. Forty-four people were killed in the attacks on Palm Sunday, a joyous...

IranAir may get its first new Boeing jetliner a year earlier than expected under a deal to take jets originally bought by cash-strapped Turkish Airlines, Iranian media and industry sources said. Iran had been expected to receive the first of 80 aircraft ordered from the U.S. planemaker in...

 Iran's President Hassan Rouhani defended his economic record in a press conference Monday but stopped short of formally announcing his candidacy for next month's presidential election. Rouhani pushed back against criticism from conservatives over his economic performance, saying there...

The Trump administration will move forward with the sale of high-tech aircraft to Nigeria for its campaign against Boko Haram Islamic extremists despite concerns over abuses committed by the African nation's security forces, according to U.S. officials. Congress is expected to receive formal...

Turkish calls for tough action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after U.S. missile strikes on one of his airbases may overestimate Washington's appetite for deeper involvement in Syria's war and threaten Ankara's fragile rapprochement with Russia. Within hours of the U.S. cruise...

A Chinese envoy arrives in South Korea Monday to discuss North Korea's increasingly defiant weapons program as a U.S. Navy strike group heads to the region amid concerns Pyongyang may be readying a fresh nuclear test. North Korea marks several major anniversaries this month and often marks...