Almost a year after Islamic State's shock capture of Mosul, Iraq's second city, the black flags of the jihadis have been raised over Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province to the west of Baghdad, seat of Iraq’s increasingly theoretical central government. Nobody talks of Mosul or recapturing...

(The Daily Star)- Arsal’s officials have voiced their opposition to the involvement of Hezbollah in battles in or around the town, saying the only party allowed to defend the area is the Lebanese Army. The annoucement was made after a meeting held in the northeastern town’s...

Islamist rebels Friday overran a hospital in northwest Syria where at least 150 regime forces and dozens of civilians were trapped for nearly a month, activists said. Al-Nusra Front, which is Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, and other factions "have taken complete control of Jisr al-Shughour...

 Gaza's economy is on the "verge of collapse," a new World Bank report warned Friday, saying the unemployment rate there is now the highest in the world and calling on Israel and international donors to remedy the situation. It charged that "blockades, war and poor governance have...