(Reuters) - Israeli air strikes killed seven Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip on Monday, the Islamist group said, in the deadliest attacks in a surge of violence exacerbated by the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli youths and a Palestinian teen. The Israeli military...

A suicide bomber detonated explosives inside a cafe in a predominantly-Shiite neighbourhood in west Baghdad on Sunday evening, killing at least four people, security and medical officials said. The evening attack struck inside the cafe in the Washash neighbourhood, a police...

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Sunday a referendum on the independence of Iraq's Kurdish region would lead to a "catastrophic" break up of the country, which is facing an onslaught by Sunni Islamist militants. The comments from Sisi, leader of...

Tim Krul was an unlikely hero as the Netherlands secured a 4-3 shoot-out win over Costa Rica to book a FIFA World Cup semi-final place. Over 120 goalless minutes in Salvador, Louis van Gaal's team struck the post or crossbar on three...

(Reuters) - A Bahraini policeman died on Saturday of wounds sustained in a bombing that the Interior Ministry said was a terrorist act. Attacks on security forces have been on the rise in the strategically located Gulf Arab country, which hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet, more than...

(Reuters) - The Yemeni air force bombed Shi'ite Muslim fighters north of Sanaa on Saturday in fighting that caused "a large number of casualties", local officials said, after a truce reached last month between the insurgents and government forces collapsed. The fighting in...

(Reuters) - Two suspected al Qaeda militants blew themselves up early on Saturday after being surrounded inside a government building in southern Saudi Arabia , following an attack on a border post with Yemen , Saudi-owned al-Arabia television reported. The satellite channel,...

(Reuters) - An Egyptian court sentenced Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie to life in prison on Saturday, the court's judge said, for inciting violence that erupted after the army deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi last year. Badie, convicted along with about 36...

(Reuters) - A group of 46 nurses caught up in fighting in Iraq arrived home in India on Saturday after briefly being held captive by suspected militants, an outcome celebrated by the newly elected government in New Delhi as an early diplomatic success. The nurses, mainly...

Gonzalo Higuain scored his first goal of the FIFA World Cup as Argentina beat Belgium 1-0 at Estadio Nacional to reach the semi-finals. Much has been made of Argentina's reliance on mercurial captain Lionel Messi during the...

BETHLEHEM ( Ma'an News Agency ) -  A preliminary autopsy report shows that 16-year-old Muhammad Abu Khdeir was burnt alive by his kidnappers, a senior Palestinian official said late Friday. Attorney General Muhammad Abd al-Ghani Uweili told Ma'an Abu...

Brazil forward Neymar has been ruled out of the World Cup after fracturing his vertebrae in the closing stages of the 2-1 quarter-final win over Colombia, his team has said. "It's not serious in the sense that it doesn't need surgery, but he'll need to...

(Reuters) - A stunning second-half free kick from Brazil's David Luiz sealed a 2-1 win over Colombia in a frantic World Cup quarter-final on Friday, keeping the hosts on track for a sixth world title. Captain Thiago Silva bundled in Neymar's corner at the back post to put the...

A Kurdish diplomat has played down the significance of Israeli advocacy of independence for her people, saying it was not coordinated with the autonomous Kurdish government in Iraq and may be intended to served Israel's interests. While acknowledging that Israel had sway in...

Israel beefed up its forces along its frontier with the Gaza Strip and launched air strikes against militant Hamas targets there on Thursday in response to Palestinian cross-border rocket attacks. Israel also faced a second day of violent Palestinian protests in Jerusalem...

Germany reached their fourth consecutive World Cup semi-final after defender Mats Hummels' first-half header gave the three-time winners a 1-0 victory over France at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana on Friday. Centre back Hummels, who scored in Germany's first group game but missed the last 16...

Iraqi Kurdish preparations for an independence referendum met with frustration in Washington, which stressed unity was essential to tackle a jihadist-led onslaught that risks "Syria-like chaos". In a rare piece of positive news during the crisis, however, a group of 46 Indian...

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi government airstrikes on Friday targeted Islamic militants trying to capture the country's largest oil refinery, reportedly killing as many as 30 insurgents, authorities said. Fighters from the Islamic State extremist group, who have overrun much of northern...

Washington, July 4 (IANS) US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday they are focusing American military efforts in Iraq on securing the American embassy and personnel in Baghdad, while advising Iraqi security forces based on assessing the situation in the Middle East country....

A source within the coalition supporting ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi claims that they have documented 54 cases of women being raped in detention centres, two of who became pregnant and have not aborted until this day, Anadolu news agency reported on Thursday. This comes...