German authorities arrested three people with alleged ties to a Syrian radical group Monday in police raids across the country, the federal prosecutor's office said. Two of the suspects, a German and a Turk, are believed to have travelled to Syria last year and joined the militant...

Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has said he will build a “stronger democracy” after his ruling Justice and Development Party seemed set for a decisive local election victory on Sunday. Speaking to a cheering crowd of supporters at his AK Party's...

"Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon claims to have received footage of the most recent call between President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin as the two discussed the crisis in Crimea. In the clip above, Fallon's Putin takes a swig of vodka, taunts the U.S. president on...

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks on Sunday about ways to defuse the crisis over  Ukraine , with Kerry telling Moscow that progress depended on a Russian troop pullback from Ukraine's borders. "Both sides made...

Ruling party under Prime Minister Erdogan overcomes sleaze and graft claims to boost support, according to early unofficial results. The ruling AK Party leads the polls in Sunday's local elections in Turkey, looking set to increase its votes in the first ballot...

Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party took a strong early lead in local elections Sunday, TV channels reported, despite turbulent months marked by mass protests, corruption scandals and Internet blocks. With over 18 percent of the municipal votes nationwide counted by early...

Eight people were killed in isolated clashes in Turkey on Sunday during municipal elections that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan hopes will validate him in his battle against a corruption scandal. The voting may have become a crisis referendum on the rule of Mr Erdogan and...

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has selected a new ambassador to represent Tehran at the United Nations, Hamid Abutalebi, a veteran diplomat who has held key European postings in the past, Iranian sources said. Abutalebi, who has served as Iran's ambassador to  Italy ,...

Over 50 million eligible voters cast their ballots in Turkey's local elections, amid corruption allegations and damaging security leaks that have shaken the 12-year rule of the  Justice and Development Party  (AKP) government.   The municipal elections have become a...

The emir of Qatar, a key backer of Sudan's Islamist regime, is to visit cash-strapped Khartoum for talks on bolstering ties, days after the  UN and African Union raised an alarm  over the upsurge in violence in Darfur. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani's one-day trip on...

A suicide car bomber exploded his vehicle at an army checkpoint in eastern Lebanon near the border with Syria on Saturday, killing at least one soldier, a security official said. "A suicide bomber detonated his car in front of a Lebanese army checkpoint at Aqabet al-Jurd in the Arsal...

Turkey has started an espionage investigation after a recorded discussion between top officials on potential military action in Syria was leaked on YouTube, heralding a possible government crackdown on its political opponents after elections on Sunday. The  recording of the...

President  Barack Obama , making his first visit to Saudi Arabia since 2009, met King Abdullah on Friday for two hours of talks that aides said would focus on Middle East peace, Iran and ways to strengthen moderate Syrian rebels. The elderly king, accompanied by a number of...

  Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan described the leaking on YouTube on Thursday of a recording of top security officials discussing possible military operations in Syria as "villainous" and the government blocked access to the video-sharing site. The anonymous...

  King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia Thursday appointed his half-brother Moqren bin Abdul Aziz as the next heir to the throne, paving the way for him to become a future king.  The move was announced by a royal decree broadcast by state television channel Al-Ikhbariya.  Under...

A Lebanese army officer was shot dead in the country’s second city of Tripoli during fighting between rival sects on Thursday, a security source and state media said. Lebanon’s National News Agency said masked men on a motorcycle had opened fire on the officer, Fadi...

US President Barack Obama has met Pope Francis for the first time to discuss how to fight global inequality and poverty, calling himself a "great admirer" of the pontiff. Obama arrived at the Vatican on Thursday amid the pomp and tradition of the Catholic Church, making his way to...

Looming fuel price rises in  Iran  will be the first major test of President Hassan Rouhani's ability to retain public support in the face of attacks from his hardline rivals. Since he was elected in August, Rouhani has pleased many Iranians by reaching an interim...

Israeli forces shot three Palestinian militants dead on Saturday in a raid on a home in the occupied West Bank to capture a wanted Hamas Islamist militant, Israeli military and Palestinian officials said. The Palestinian Authority denounced the violence that it said threatened...

U.S. lawmakers lashed out at the Obama administration's handling of Syria's civil war on Wednesday, demanding a stronger American response to the conflict and better communication from the White House about its plans. Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign...