Israel has advanced plans for a further 1,500 homes in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, Peace Now said on Thursday, the second such announcement in a week. More than 3,000 units have been advanced this week, a spokeswoman for the NGO that tracks settlement building in the...

The U.N. human rights office has reports of a "significant escalation" of Iraqi civilians being killed by ISIS as they try to flee Mosul, and reports of 50-80 deaths in an air strike on the Zanjili district on May 31, it said on Thursday. "Credible reports indicate that more than 231...

 Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region has called a referendum on independence to be held on Sept. 25, an official said on Wednesday, moving ahead with a plan for full statehood that is likely to be opposed by Baghdad. Hemin Hawrami, assistant to Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani, tweeted: "big...

Turkish authorities detained 60 soldiers Wednesday and issued detention orders for another 128 people in operations targeting the network of a Muslim cleric the government blames for last year's failed coup, local media reported. Some 50,000 people have been arrested since the failed putsch...