Palestinian citizens of Israel are calling for a general strike Wednesday after the Israeli authorities destroyed 11 buildings in the Arab city of Qalansawe in central Israel. The High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens, which represents Palestinians living in Israel, called for the...

World stocks edged down from recent highs and the dollar steadied ahead of a news conference by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in which he is expected to give more details about his plans for the U.S. economy. While Trump's election campaign calls for tax cuts and more infrastructure...

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said Saudi Arabia had arrested two rights activists in the first ten days of this year and accused Riyadh of a crackdown on dissent. The organisations said in press releases that Essam Koshak in Mecca and Ahmed al-Mushaikhass in the eastern city...

 Iraqi forces have retaken at least 80 percent of east Mosul from ISIS, the spokesman of the special forces spearheading the campaign said Wednesday. "I think you can say that we have retaken 80 to 85 percent" of the eastern side of Mosul, Sabah al-Noman, spokesman for the...

President Barack Obama didn't just say farewell to the nation. He said goodbye to Air Force One, too. Obama's roundtrip to his Chicago hometown, where he delivered the speech, marked the 445th time that he's flown aboard the familiar, eye-catching blue and white U.S. government airplane with...

The PYD should be party to any Syrian peace talks, the U.S. said Tuesday. "This process has to include all Syrians, and that includes the Syrian Kurds," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters. Asked explicitly if the PYD should be at the table, Toner replied, "At some point...

A top Iraqi commander says the operation to retake the city of Mosul from ISIS could be complete in three months or less. Lt. Gen. Talib Shaghati said in an interview with the AP Tuesday evening that "It's possible" Mosul will be liberated in three months or less. But he warned it is...

At least 11 ISIS militants were killed in northern Syria in the last 24 hours as part of the ongoing Operation Euphrates Shield, according to a Turkish General Staff statement released on Wednesday. Turkish Air force also hit 12 ISIS targets in al-Bab region, including six weapons pits, two...

U.S. Republican and Democratic senators said Tuesday they want to slap a wide range of sanctions on Russia over its cyber activities and actions in Syria and Ukraine, and force President Donald Trump to formally waive them if he has objections. Ten senators - Republicans John McCain, Lindsey...

Five officials from the United Arab Emirates were among the dead in a bombing in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, the Emirates' official WAM news agency said Wednesday. The officials were "on a mission to carry out humanitarian, educational and development projects", the news agency...

(CNN)- Classified documents presented last week to President Obama and President-elect Trump included allegations that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Mr. Trump, multiple US officials with direct knowledge of the briefings tell CNN. The...

U.S. President Barack Obama, in an interview aired on Israeli television on Tuesday, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu policy backing settlements in occupied territory is making a future Palestinian state impossible. "Bibi says that he believes in the two-state solution and yet his...

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday exchanged views on Syrian issue in a phone conversation, according to the diplomatic sources.  The sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said the two leaders discussed the Syrian...

Pope Francis will grant Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas an audience at the Vatican on Saturday, the Holy See confirmed indirectly Tuesday by announcing arrangements for media coverage of the visit. It will be the third time Francis has met Abbas following an encounter during the...

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on Tuesday the U.S. intelligence community's report concluding that Russia orchestrated hacks during the 2016 presidential campaign was based on a mix of human sources, collection of technical data and open-source information. Clapper,...

The meetings of the Preparatory Committee of the Palestinian National Council (PNC) have been launched in the Lebanese capital with wide participation of representatives from all Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups. The two-day meetings are currently held in the...

The new U.N. secretary-general is urging the world organization and its 193 member states to stop focusing on responding to conflicts and do far more to prevent war and sustain peace. Antonio Guterres said Tuesday in his first speech to the Security Council that the multiplication of...

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday relations with northern neighbor Turkey could "not move forward one step" without a withdrawal of Turkish forces from a camp in northern Iraq, state television reported. Turkish forces have been stationed at Bashiqa camp near Mosul since...

Iraqi forces pushed Islamic State fighters back further in Mosul on Tuesday in a renewed effort to seize the northern city and deal a decisive blow to the militant group, though progress was slower in some districts, the army said. Iraqi forces and their allies have captured villages and...

Britain will be in the "front seat" to negotiate a new trade deal with the incoming administration of Donald Trump, a top Republican in the United States Senate said, the BBC reported. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker said after meeting British Foreign Secretary Boris...