Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesman says the 82-year-old leader has been hospitalized for a routine checkup and will be discharged in a matter of hours. Nabil Abu Rudeineh says Abbas is undergoing regular examinations Saturday at a Ramallah hospital. Abbas, a smoker, has...

(The New York Times)- Nine animals that had been kept alive — barely — at a damaged zoo on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, were evacuated and taken to a rehabilitation center in Turkey last week. The animals — three lions, two tigers, two bears and two hyenas — were trucked from...

Romania said Friday it had blocked a Moldova-bound plane carrying Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin from entering its airspace because of an EU travel ban linked to sanctions over the Ukraine crisis. "We confirm that the plane was not allowed to fly over Romanian airspace," the...

 (Zaman Al Wasl)- Jaish Osoud al-Sharqiya killed 15 regime troops in the Syrian desert, known as al-Badiya, when its artillery and Grad rockets pounded an army stronghold in Um Remam area, spokesman said Friday. Said Seif, press officer of the U.S.-backed group that operates in...