Iraq's newly-elected parliament is meeting for the first time as rival factions compete over the right to name a new government. The parliament Monday opened its first session since national elections in May with an orchestral performance of the national anthem and a prayer....

Turkey raised natural gas prices over the weekend by as much as 14 percent, two sources said, while the energy regulator announced a similar increase in electricity costs as a deepening currency crisis stokes inflation. The lira has fallen 42 percent against the dollar this year, hit by...

US officials working on a Middle East peace plan have asked Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas about forming a confederation with Jordan, Abbas told activists Sunday, according to one of them. Abbas recounted the conversation he had with White House aides Jared Kushner and Jason...

Israel welcomed Saturday a US decision to end funding for the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), accusing the organisation which supports some five million Palestinians of perpetuating the Middle East conflict. Israel and the United States have accused the nearly 70-year-old agency...