The United States still wants a negotiated political settlement in  Syria  that excludes President Bashar al-Assad, according to a senior U.S. envoy, but Washington's close allyGermany said talks with the Damascus government might still be necessary. As German Foreign...

The United States insisted on Monday it would never negotiate directly with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, edging away from comments made by Secretary of State John Kerry, and it cast doubt on any immediate prospects for third-party talks to resolve Syria’s civil war....

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday there would be no Palestinian state if he were reelected, in a last-ditch effort to woo rightwing voters on the eve of a general election. Polling stations are to open at 0500 GMT on Tuesday for Israel's second snap...

(Reuters) - The United Nations is concerned by the presence of Islamic State in Afghanistan but says the militant group's power to unite insurgents is more significant than its capabilities in the war-torn country, a top U.N. official said on Monday. U.N. envoy Nicholas Haysom...