A top Iraqi militia leader warned of a strong response against U.S. forces in Iraq following air strikes in Iraq and Syria overnight that hit several bases of his Iranian-backed group and killed at least 25 people. The U.S. military carried out air strikes on Sunday against the...

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday met the main opposition party leader to discuss the upcoming parliament session on possible military deployment in Libya. Cavusoglu informed Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the Republican People's Party (CHP) about the motion to be submitted in the...

Lebanon’s powerful Shi’ite group Hezbollah condemned on Monday U.S. air strikes in Iraq and Syria targeting the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia, calling them a blatant attack on Iraqi sovereignty, security, and stability. In a statement, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which is also backed by...

Hong Kong police Monday accused activists in the long-running pro-democracy movement of inciting minors to commit crimes. The claim Monday comes two days before a planned New Year's Day march that is expected to attract tens of thousands of participants. Chief police spokesman Kwok...

A court in Sudan on Monday sentenced 27 members of the country's security forces to death for torturing and killing a detained protester during the uprising against Sudan's longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir earlier this year. The death of protester Ahmed al-Khair, a school teacher, while in...

The Taliban Monday denied agreeing to any ceasefire in Afghanistan after rumours swirled of a potential deal that would see a reduction in fighting after more than 18 years of war. The statement from the insurgents comes as local and international forces brace for another bloody winter amid...

A key commander of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the mother organization of the Pakistani Taliban, was killed in Afghanistan, the group confirmed on Sunday. Qari Saifullah Mehsud, spokesman for the Hakimullah Mehsud group, was shot dead by gunmen outside the Guloon camp in Khost...

Death toll of Sunday attacks by the U.S. on positions belong to Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah militia group in Iraq and Syria has risen to 24, according to an Iraqi source on Monday. Jawad Kadhim Al-Rabaiwi, senior leader of Hashd al-Shaabi -- an umbrella group for various militias -- said in a...

Death toll from a powerful typhoon that struck parts of the Philippines last week on Christmas has risen to 47, according to official media on Monday. The number of injured has also climbed to 143 while nine others are reportedly missing in the wake of the storm's landfall, the state-run...

Police in Turkey detained dozens of people suspected of links to Daesh (ISIS), the state-run news agency reported Monday, in an apparent sweep against the militant group ahead of New Year celebrations. At least 33 foreign nationals were detained in the capital Ankara in a joint operation by...

Operations resumed at Iraq's southern Nassiriya oilfield Monday, two oil sources said, but it will take up to two days for output to be fully restored. Protesters broke into the oilfield, which produces 80,000-85,000 barrels of oil per day, Saturday and forced employees to cut off...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will give his set-piece New Year speech on Wednesday, an opportunity to flesh out the nuclear-armed nation’s threat to seek a "new way" forward after the expiration of its year-end deadline for US sanctions relief. Ahead of the address, Kim told a meeting of...

Tourists and firefighters were forced to flee vast fires burning in southeastern Australia on Monday, as a heatwave rekindled devastating bush blazes across the country. Authorities said "quite a number" of the 30,000 tourists visiting the usually picturesque southeast tip of the continent...

Israel will withold around $43 million in tax handovers to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority (PA) over its financial support for the families of slain or wounded Palestinian militants, the Israeli security cabinet said on Sunday. The decision followed Israel’s similar trimming in...

Several Iraqi militia fighters were killed on Sunday in an air strike on their headquarters near the western Qaim district on the border with Syria, military sources and militia commanders told Reuters. The strike was likely carried out by drones and targeted the Iran-backed Kataib...

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a phone call on Sunday, thanked his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump for passing on an information which helped prevent “acts of terrorism” in Russia, the Kremlin said. It said the information was passed on via special services. No other details were...

The Taliban said Sunday they have agreed to a temporary cease-fire nationwide. It provides a window during which a peace agreement with the United States could be signed. A peace deal would allow Washington to bring home its troops from Afghanistan and end its 18-year military engagement...

Hundreds of people demonstrated Saturday outside Morocco’s parliament demanding the release of a journalist detained for criticising a judge in a tweet. Omar Radi, 33, was detained Thursday in Casablanca and immediately put on trial for the tweet about a judge prosecuting protest leaders,...

More than 1,000 people rallied in the rain in a park in Hong Kong’s financial district on Sunday, chanting slogans for democracy as they huddled under a sea of umbrellas. The crowd, a mix of young and elderly people, wore black and turquoise surgical masks to hide their identities as they...

Two Saudi men shot dead last week in the eastern city of Dammam were driving a car loaded with explosives and were planning an "imminent terrorist operation," the SPA state news agency said Sunday, citing security forces. The two were found with explosive paste in the car, SPA said. They...