Mosul's trademark leaning minaret was missing from its skyline for the first time in centuries Thursday after desperate militants blew it up as Iraqi forces advanced on an ancient mosque compound. Explosions on Wednesday evening levelled the Nuri mosque where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi gave his...

Cristiano Ronaldo said Portugal were worthy winners after scoring his first goal of the Confederations Cup to steer his country to a 1-0 victory over hosts Russia on Wednesday. The Real Madrid star brushed off the tax storm clouding his club future by heading in the only goal in Moscow after...

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered weekend missile strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria, Revolutionary Guards said, contradicting a previous report that they were authorised by the country's security council. The Guards fired six mid-range surface to surface missiles...

( The Guardian )- The rush to Raqqa, Islamic State’s capital on the banks of the Euphrates in Syria, marks the beginning of a new and perilous phase in one of the world’s most dangerous battle zones. The capture of the capital of Isis’s self-declared caliphate would be partly symbolic –...