Jordan, home to many Islamic and Christian holy sites, hopes a visit this month by Pope Francis will promote religious tourism and boost an industry hit hard by regional turmoil. Tourism contributes 12 percent of gross domestic product in the desert kingdom and last year saw...

Syrian rebels have agreed to free 1,500 families in exchange for food and the release of jailed opponents of President Bashar al-Assad, a newspaper close to his regime said Monday. The reported agreement involves the release of families held by rebels in Adra, a flashpoint town...

CAIRO (AP) — The official spokesman of an al-Qaida-breakaway group has strongly criticized its parent organization's head, Ayman al-Zawahri, for siding with a rival jihadi group in Syria. In an audio message posted on militant websites late Sunday, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani,...

War and drought have crippled Syria's wheat crop, with some experts now forecasting output of the staple food could fall to around a third of pre-war levels, and possibly even below 1 million metric tons ( 1 metric ton = 1.1023 tons) for the first time in 40 years, Reuters said in an...