Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani has declared that the "time has come" for the country's Kurds to hold a referendum on statehood, his office said on Wednesday. "The time has come and the conditions are now suitable for the people to make a decision through a referendum on their future,"...

Oil futures extended losses into a third session in Asian trade on Wednesday, as U.S. crude stocks last week surged to more than half-a-billion barrels and as Iran plans to boost exports from March. Brent for April delivery had dropped 9 cents to $32.63 a barrel as of 0707 GMT,...

Syria's Red Crescent on Tuesday delivered aid to a town under government siege outside the capital Damascus, aid workers and a monitor said. "The Syrian Arab Red Crescent today entered Al-Tal, and delivered 14 trucks of aid provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross," said ICRC...

A Syrian military offensive backed by heavy Russian air strikes threatened to cut critical rebel supply lines into the northern city of Aleppo on Tuesday, while the warring sides said peace talks had not started despite a U.N. statement they had. U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura...