( ESPN )- ON A COOL February afternoon, one of Syria's greatest soccer players sits outside a mall on the Persian Gulf, paralyzed by a decision that he fears could kill him. For five years, Firas al-Khatib has boycotted the Syrian national team to protest dictator Bashar al-Assad, who...

Iran's presidential election may turn on turnout. Historically, the more Iranians who cast ballots, the greater the chance a reformist or a moderate like incumbent President Hassan Rouhani will be elected. However, Rouhani's bid for another four-year term comes amid apathy and grumbling from...

Iraq's joint operations command says an Iraqi air force helicopter has been downed west of Mosul after coming under fire from ISIS. Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, the command's spokesman, says the helicopter was hit Saturday afternoon while supporting Iraq's mostly Shiite militia forces in an...

Syrian regime army captured an airbase in eastern Aleppo from ISIS Saturday, after more than two months of fierce clashes, a military source and activists said. The Jarrah airbase had been under ISIS control since January 2014, when the extremists seized it from rebels who had captured it a...