Oil prices edged down on Monday as a disappointing Chinese economic survey clouded the outlook for demand, although talk that OPEC-led crude output cuts could be extended continued to offer support. NYMEX crude for June delivery CLc1 was down 12 cents at $49.21 a barrel by 0619 GMT....

The U.S.-led coalition has come under increasing scrutiny by monitoring groups regarding civilian casualties in the fight against ISIS in Iraq, a turn that is worrying some in the country's political leadership who fear the destruction and loss of life could complicate hopes of reconciliation...

( The Guardian )- In the aftermath of Turkish airstrikes on Kurdish positions in north-east Syria last week, US troops escorted an ageing militant through an angry crowd to inspect the damage. As a senior leader of the Kurdish militant organisation the PKK, Abdi Ferhad Şahin, known as...

( The Guardian )- Near Aleppo’s ancient citadel, the scent of rose and jasmine rises from the rubble of a half-destroyed shop covered in bullet holes. Months ago it was a battleground, but for years before that it was a perfumery, and war has not changed its smell. For centuries Aleppo’s...