United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday called on Lebanon's political rivals to end the country's presidential stalemate. A spokesman for Ban said the UN chief "regrets that the Lebanese Parliament was unable to elect a new president within the timeframe set by...

BEIRUT, May 25 (Reuters) - Lebanese security forces arrested an influential Syrian-born Islamist cleric on Sunday who went into hiding last month after a crackdown in the northern city of Tripoli to end sectarian violence fuelled by civil war in neighbouring Syria. Omar Bakri,...

(Reuters) - Two of the three people killed in a shooting at the Jewish Museum in central Brussels on Saturday were Israeli tourists, Israel's Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. A spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry did not give further details on their identities on the...

(Reuters) - Bahrain released one of the Arab world's best-known activists on Saturday after he served a two-year jail sentence for his role in protests calling for democracy in the U.S.-allied kingdom. Nabeel Rajab, founder of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, was found...

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Pope Francis has thanked Jordan for welcoming hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the civil war in Syria, calling for an "urgent," peaceful solution to the conflict. His comments come as he began a three-day visit Saturday to the Middle East Pope...

(Reuters) - Iran has cut its most sensitive nuclear stockpile by around 80 percent under an interim pact with world powers and has begun engaging with a long-stalled IAEA investigation into suspected weapons research, the U.N. atomic watchdog said on Friday. The findings,...

(Reuters) - A militant Islamist leader in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula was shot dead on Friday by unknown assailants, security sources said, a few days before Egyptians vote for a new president. Egypt launched a wide-ranging campaign against militants in the Sinai after they...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis insists his weekend pilgrimage to the Middle East is a "strictly religious" commemoration of a key turning point in Catholic-Orthodox relations. But the delicate, three-day mission will test his diplomatic skills as he navigates Israeli-Palestinian...

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House officials have been holding private meetings this week aimed at soothing lawmakers' concerns over the U.S. posture in Syria, the future of the American military presence in Afghanistan and defense spending. The meetings come as a frustrated White House...

Gulf neighbours the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday announced a joint committee to confront "regional challenges", in a statement published on official Emirati news agency WAM. The move came as Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal met UAE Crown Prince...

(Reuters) - Explosions and heavy fighting with anti-aircraft guns could be heard near two military camps in Libya's capital Tripoli early Wednesday, witnesses said, two days after gunmen had stormed parliament in the worst violence in months. Residents reported several loud...

Attacks north of Baghdad killed 11 Iraqi soldiers on Tuesday, the latest in a protracted surge in bloodshed just a day after officials announced results from April's parliamentary election. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who is seeking a third term in office, has been held...

Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah will travel to Iran on May 31 amid a recent thaw in Tehran's relations with Gulf states, the Iranian foreign ministry said Tuesday. Relations between Iran and the Gulf states have been frosty for years, with disagreements over the...

LONDON (AP) — For the first time, a British man has been convicted of terrorism-related offenses after going to Syria with the intention of joining the conflict there. Kingston Crown Court on Tuesday convicted Mashudur Choudhury of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist...

(Reuters) - Germany has rejected calls for Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to cancel his visit to Cologne on Saturday, when he is due to address almost 20,000 supporters in what could amount to a de facto rally for Turkey's presidential poll in August. Erdogan has...

(Reuters) - The United States has increased the number of Marines and aircraft stationed in Sicily who could be called upon to evacuate Americans from the U.S. embassy in Tripoli as unrest in Libya grows, two U.S. officials said on Monday. About 60 more Marines and another...

(Reuters) - Despite resuming some military aid, the United States appears unlikely to quickly restore the close ties with Egypt that framed U.S. Middle East policy for decades, as concerns persist over the authoritarian crackdown since last year's military takeover. Even as...

By Ahmed Rasheed and Isra' al-Rube'ii BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Prime Minister Nouri Maliki won the largest share of Iraqi parliamentary seats in last month's national elections, dealing a blow to Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish rivals who opposed his serving a third term....

DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates has referred nine expatriate Arabs to a state security court on charges of joining al Qaeda, collecting donations and recruiting fighters for al-Nusra Front in Syria, state news agency WAM reported on Monday. The agency said two...

(Reuters) - Deutsche Bank ( DBKGn.DE ) launched plans to raise 8 billion euros ($11 billion) in new capital on Sunday with the Qatari royal family a major new investor, in a bid by Germany's largest bank to end questions about its capital strength. The bank had already raised...