AT CHECKPOINTS across the country, Iraq’s many and various security forces cheer Russia’s arrival as an answer to their failure to turn the tide after 16 months battling the jihadists of Islamic State (IS) in north-western Iraq. “The US and its coalition did nothing,” says a...

Syrian regime forces edged forward in the northern province of Aleppo on Saturday with air cover from Russian warplanes, but faced fierce resistance from rebel forces in the country's center, AFP reported. A Syrian military source told AFP that troops had advanced to within six kilometers...

After fleeing civil war, surviving a perilous sea crossing and trudging through several countries, Syrian refugees think they will receive basic food, shelter and fair treatment when they reach Austria. Most are right, but some tell a different tale. These people complain of...

President Barack Obama said Thursday that he would keep 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan through next year. "I have decided to maintain our current posture of 9,800 troops in Afghanistan through most of next year, 2016," Obama announced at a White House pess conference, citing security risks by...