(Reuters) - An Egyptian court jailed more than 160 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to up to 15 years in prison on Sunday, pressing a crackdown on the Islamist group before a presidential election former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to win. Defendants chanted...

By Humeyra Pamuk SOMA, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish police put the mining town of Soma on virtual lockdown on Saturday, setting up checkpoints and detaining dozens of people to enforce a ban on protests as rescue efforts following the country's worst industrial disaster ended....

(Reuters) - Heavily armed gunmen stormed Libya's parliament with anti-aircraft weapons on Sunday in an assault claimed by forces loyal to a renegade ex-general who has vowed to purge the country of Islamist militants. In a confusing, chaotic attack, heavy smoke rose from the...

(Reuters) - A senior member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government hinted on Saturday that Israel was involved in back-channel contacts with Palestinian and Arab officials despite the collapse of U.S.-brokered peace negotiations last month. Foreign Minister...

(Reuters) - A bomb wounded at least three people at a Cairo election rally for presidential frontrunner Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday, security sources said, underscoring Egypt's instability nearly a year after he toppled Islamist leader Mohamed Mursi. A man riding on a...

(Reuters) - Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan says his film "Winter Sleep" dealing with the huge divide between rich and poor, the powerful and the powerless in modern day Turkey is not based on current events, but is meant to teach his country a lesson. Ceylan's film...

(Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is considering trade sanctions against the Netherlands because of stickers printed by far-right politician Geert Wilders which display anti-Islam slogans in the colors of the Saudi flag, a Dutch foreign ministry spokesman said. Wilders, leader of...

(Reuters) - The self-declared Libyan National Army told civilians on Saturday to leave parts of Benghazi before it launched a fresh attack on Islamist militants, a day after at least 43 were killed in the worst clashes in the Libyan city for months. Dozens of families could...

(Reuters) - Egypt's public prosecutor has appealed against the mass death sentences issued by a provincial court, which had caused an international outcry, state media reported on Saturday, in rare criticism by a senior member of the judiciary of a court ruling. Mass trials in...

(Reuters) - Iran and six world powers made little progress this week in talks on ending their dispute over Tehran's nuclear program, U.S. and Iranian officials said on Friday, raising doubts over the prospects for a breakthrough by a July 20 deadline. After three months of...

LONDON (AP) — "Downton Abbey" star Michelle Dockery is selling the eye-catching gown she wore to last year's Emmy Awards to help victims of the Syria civil war. Christie's auction house says the Prada dress, featuring a red halter-style top and burgundy skirt, will go under the...

Jerusalem, May 16 (IANS) US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel said Thursday that he could not validate a recent media report of alleged Israeli spying in his country. "I have heard of that report. I'm not aware of any facts that would substantiate the report," Xinhua quoted Hagel...

(Reuters) - Egyptian presidential frontrunner Abdel Fattah al-Sisi gave Reuters a wide-ranging interview. The following is the full text. Q: How long do you think it will take to make real difference. What is your expectation as to the timetable before people start seeing...

Swedish film-maker Malik Bendjelloul, who shot to fame with his Oscar-winning documentary, "Searching for Sugar Man", has died aged 36. Swedish police said the director had died in the capital Stockholm on Tuesday, but would not specify where his body was found or the cause of...

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in the Saudi Arabia Tuesday, the first leg of a regional tour focusing on Iran's nuclear programme and Syria's civil war. Hagel will hold talks with Saudi officials and on Wednesday he will meet Gulf Cooperation Council defence ministers...

(Reuters) - Kidnappers freed Jordan's ambassador to Libya and he said on his arrival home on Tuesday that in exchange his government had sent back to Tripoli a Libyan Islamist militant who had been serving a life sentence for a bombing plot. Jordan's foreign minister said...

US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in London this week, the first time since peace talks collapsed last month, officials said Monday. "Secretary Kerry will meet with president Abbas in London on Thursday," State Department spokeswoman Jen...

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's presidential frontrunner Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Monday the Syrian civil war must be resolved through peaceful means, indicating Egypt would not support an armed intervention there, something previously suggested by some Arab states. Most of...

Jordan, home to many Islamic and Christian holy sites, hopes a visit this month by Pope Francis will promote religious tourism and boost an industry hit hard by regional turmoil. Tourism contributes 12 percent of gross domestic product in the desert kingdom and last year saw...

War and drought have crippled Syria's wheat crop, with some experts now forecasting output of the staple food could fall to around a third of pre-war levels, and possibly even below 1 million metric tons ( 1 metric ton = 1.1023 tons) for the first time in 40 years, Reuters said in an...