Families of detainees in Syrian prisons are routinely forced to bribe officials to be allowed to visit them or to win their release, according to a report that reveals the vast scale of extortion in the detention system. The sums involved – rising as high as £2m in one jail - are likely...

The US military on Monday blamed the Taliban for a spate of assassinations of prominent Afghans, the first time Washington has directly accused the insurgent group of the killings. The charge comes as the Afghan government and Taliban are due Tuesday to resume peace talks in Qatar, as both...

Britain began vaccinating its population with the COVID-19 shot developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca on Monday, touting a scientific "triumph" that puts it at the vanguard of the West in inoculating against the virus. Britain, which is rushing to vaccinate its population faster...

 Militants ambushed buses traveling down a highway in central Syria late Sunday, killing nine people, including a 13-year-old girl, state media reported. The ambush is the second this week to target buses traveling between government-controlled areas and to be blamed on suspected...