Air pollution forced the closure of schools and universities in parts of Iran on Saturday, including Tehran, which was cloaked by a cloud of toxic smog, state media reported. The decision to shut schools and universities in the capital was announced late Friday by deputy governor Mohammad...

Tens of Damascus shop owners went on strike Friday, protesting the deteriorating value of the Syrian pound against the dollar that hits 800 for $1, local activists said. The Political Security Division threatened to arrest the merchants who close their shops for monopoly purposes....

Weeks into a protest movement partly driven by a collapsing economy, Lebanese interior architect Laeticia Nicolas was called in by her boss and told she was fired. "There had been fewer and fewer projects for a year," said the 28-year-old, who since October 17 has taken part in...

Britain's premier on Wednesday apologized for Islamophobia in his Conservative Party, saying there would be an internal inquiry into the issue before Christmas, according to local reports.  Visiting Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall, Boris Johnson expressed to reporters his apology...