Updates:    At least 18 civilians, including 4 children, were killed in regime bombing, local activists said Thursday. - At least 47 regime troops have been killed in a fresh death toll.   - Rebels took control of the intelligence and army checkpoints...

Qatar's emir approved laws on Thursday for the Gulf state's first legislative election in October, when Qataris will elect two-thirds of the advisory Shura Council, his office said. The election, plans for which were first approved in a 2003 constitutional referendum, is being held before...

Lebanese firefighters are struggling for the second day to contain wildfires in the country's north that have spread across the border into Syria, civil defense officials in both countries said Thursday. The fires killed at least one person, a 15-year-old boy, who was helping firefighting...

Walking through the streets of Gaziantep, Turkey, a 12-foot-tall puppet of a 9-year-old Syrian refugee girl, called 'Little Amal', attracts the attention of passersby. Towering over crowds, it's the beginning of a transcontinental trip that organisers hope will bring awareness to the...