Syrian President Bashar al-Assad flew to Moscow on Tuesday evening to personally thank Russia's Vladimir Putin for his military support, in a surprise visit that underlined how Russia has become a major player in the Middle East. It was Assad's first foreign trip since the outbreak of...

Slovenia on Tuesday called in the army to help it manage a flood of refugees seeking to reach northern Europe ahead of winter, as the small EU state became the latest trouble spot on the migrant trail. With at least 9,000 people landing on Europe's beaches every day, there appeared to...

A powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, but no tsunami threat was detected, seismologists said. The quake hit at a depth of 131 kilometres (81 miles) about 335 kilometres from the capital Port Vila, the United States Geological Survey said....

UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned Israelis and Palestinians on Tuesday they were at a "dangerous abyss" and must act quickly to calm nearly three weeks of unrest before it spirals further out of control. The stark comments came as the UN secretary general made an unannounced visit to...