cTwo million Muslims from across the globe are converging on Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the hajj pilgrimage, a religious duty and for some pilgrims the journey of a lifetime. This year sees the return of pilgrims from Shiite Iran, regional rival to Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia, and comes...

Iraqi officials say a car bomb has ripped through a busy market area in eastern Baghdad, killing at least six people. A police officer says the explosives-laden car went off on Monday morning at the wholesale Jamila market in Baghdad's Shiite district of Sadr City. He says the explosion also...

( The Washington Post )- As Syrian refugees begin to trickle back to a homeland still at war, aid agencies fear that a proposed change to U.N. guidelines could accelerate the pace of returns. At least 5.1 million people have left Syria during the six-year conflict, with most seeking safety...

 Iran's official IRNA news agency says one of the country's most influential dissident politicians who once served as foreign minister, Ebrahim Yazdi, has died. He was 85. Monday's report says Yazdi died in Izmir, Turkey, due to complications from cancer. He was a close ally of...