(The Daily Star)- A spokesman for a leading Shiite militia says its fighters have gained control of a highway linking the ISIS-held city of Mosul to the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the militants' self-proclaimed caliphate. The spokesman for the Hezbollah Brigades, Jaafar...

 (New York Times)- Russia said on Wednesday that it would extend a moratorium on airstrikes in the Syrian city of Aleppo until Friday to give embattled antigovernment rebels a chance to leave the city and to “avoid senseless victims” of continued fighting. Under terms of the cease-fire...

U.S.-backed Iraqi forces moved closer on Wednesday to a town south of Mosul where aid groups and regional officials say Islamic State has executed dozens of prisoners. A military statement said security forces advanced to the edge of Hammam al-Alil, a thermal water resort, after an elite...

Three Syrian regime soldiers fled the country and reached Turkey's southern frontier province of Hatay late on Tuesday, a security source said on Wednesday. Speaking on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, the source said the troops, who described themselves as "Assad's...

Swiss police raided a mosque in a northern city Wednesday, detaining four people including an Ethiopian imam who allegedly called for the killing of Muslims who refused to participate in prayers, the state prosecutor's office said. Police searched the An Nur mosque in Winterthur and the...

(Middle East Eye)- There have been two signs that Riyadh’s grip over its neighbourhood is loosening. The first was a long range missile which the Houthis fired at Jeddah airport, west of Mecca. The second was the election of Michel Aoun as Lebanese president, which was guaranteed by the...

French authorities Wednesday started moving out the remaining 1,500 unaccompanied children living next to the razed "Jungle" migrant camp in Calais to shelters around the country. A first bus carrying 43 minors left the area around 8:30 am (0730 GMT) for the southwest, rapidly followed by a...

(Daily Mail)- President Vladimir Putin has ordered a 10-hour truce on Friday in the war-ravaged Syrian city of Aleppo, the Russian defence ministry said. "A decision was made to introduce a 'humanitarian pause' in Aleppo on November 4 from 9:00 am (0600 GMT) to 19:00," the chief of Russia's...

(The Guardian)- War and bloodshed doesn’t have the power to shock you when it’s been seen thousands of times before, on television, in films, in newspapers. That’s why the Russian reaction to the violent bombing campaign in the Syrian city of Aleppo has been so muted. There has been no...

(The Daily Star)- Hundreds of schools were ordered to close indefinitely in Kashmir Wednesday after shelling by Indian and Pakistani troops in the disputed region killed 14 civilians in two days. Authorities on the Indian-administered side of Kashmir, which is split between the two nations,...

Russia's Defense Ministry said Wednesday it would extend a moratorium on airstrikes on the Syrian city of Aleppo until 1900 on Nov. 4 by order of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesman said Tuesday that a temporary pause in Russian and Syrian government airstrikes on Aleppo was...

She sent just one text to her mother: “I am trapped in a house with Islamic State fighters. Do not call me.” Off and on for eight hours, Monaly Atalla and six college roommates hid under their beds in their darkened house as an elite cadre of Islamic State fighters came and went during a...

The Palestinian football chief told AFP Tuesday he would appeal to the world's top sports court if FIFA fails to punish Israel over clubs based in the occupied West Bank. At issue are six small-time Israeli football clubs which play in Jewish settlements that are considered illegal under...

(Middle East Eye)- Flooding in Egypt has killed 29 civilians and injured at least 73, according to the health ministry, sparking criticism among Egyptians that the government has failed to provide fast relief. .Khaled Megahed, the health ministry spokesman, said on Monday that Thursday’s...

Sudan said Tuesday it will press ahead with efforts to normalise ties with the United States despite Washington extending sanctions imposed on Khartoum that adversely impact the east African country. On Monday, President Barack Obama extended the sanctions by another year, saying Khartoum's...

 Egypt's Supreme Investment Council, which is headed by President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, agreed Tuesday to extend a freeze on a capital gains tax to three years, Sisi's office said in a statement. The council approved in total 17 measures aimed at boosting investment that included tax...

French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday said the Louvre could house threatened treasures from Iraq, Syria and other war-torn countries at a secure site in northern France. The precious items could be placed in safe keeping at a conservation facility due to open in 2019 in Lievin, 200...

(Vox)- The United States is actively participating in a brutal war in Yemen, providing valuable jet refueling capabilities and intelligence to the Saudi-led campaign against the Houthi rebel group that began in March of last year. Because of the US’s fairly limited direct combat role, the...

On a dusty plain south of Mosul, French artillery guns fire in support of Iraqi troops fighting to retake the city from the Islamic State group. The French operation -- dubbed "Task Force Wagram" -- is part of crucial backing provided by a US-led coalition to the Mosul offensive launched...

The prospect of a political process to establish peace in Syria has been postponed to an “uncertain period of time”, Russian defense minister said in Moscow Tuesday. According to a statement posted on the Ministry of Defense’s official website, Sergei Shoigu said: “Prospects of the start of...