MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday sternly warned the West against encroaching further on Russia's security interests, saying Moscow's response will be “quick and tough” and make the culprits feel bitterly sorry for their action. The warning during Putin's annual...

Syria's Bashar Assad formally announced Wednesday he will run for reelection in war-torn Syria, and was expected to win a fourth seven-year term in the largely symbolic May 26 vote. The elections would be the second held during the course of the country's 10-year conflict and the...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Apart from China and despite a worldwide drop in death sentences, countries in the Middle East remained among the world’s leading executioners last year, Amnesty International said Wednesday. The number of executions worldwide plummeted to its...

Syria appointed Issam Hazima as governor of its central bank on Tuesday, state media said, a week after his predecessor was sacked following criticism of his handling of a currency crisis that has seen the Syrian pound fall to record lows. Hazima, who had been one of two deputies of...