( The Guardian )- Iraqi forces have advanced to the base of the toppled minaret of Mosul’s Great Mosque of al-Nuri, hours after it was destroyed by Islamic State militants, as the bitter eight-month battle to recapture the city reached a tipping point. The destruction of the mosque marked...

Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday there was high degree of certainty that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was dead, RIA news agency reported. Moscow said last week its forces may have killed the secretive ISIS leader, but Washington said it could not corroborate the death and...

The Gaza Strip's sole power station has been fired up again, the energy authority in the Palestinian enclave said Thursday, after fuel supplies from Egypt helped to ease an energy crisis. The announcement came after Egypt delivered a million litres of fuel to the station on Wednesday, three...

Iran called on its regional rival Saudi Arabia on Thursday to free Iranian fishermen, pay compensation for killing a sailor and punish those behind the "irresponsible act", the semi-official Fars news agency reported. Iranian media reported last week that Saudi border guards opened fire on...