Australia, Luxembourg and Jordan circulated a draft resolution to the 15-member U.N. Security Council on Thursday that seeks to boost cross-border humanitarian access in Syria but it was not immediately clear if Russia and China would support the move. After more than a month of...

Israel beefed up its forces along its frontier with the Gaza Strip and launched air strikes against militant Hamas targets there on Thursday in response to Palestinian cross-border rocket attacks. Israel also faced a second day of violent Palestinian protests in Jerusalem...

Iraqi Kurdish preparations for an independence referendum met with frustration in Washington, which stressed unity was essential to tackle a jihadist-led onslaught that risks "Syria-like chaos". In a rare piece of positive news during the crisis, however, a group of 46 Indian...

Washington, July 4 (IANS) US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday they are focusing American military efforts in Iraq on securing the American embassy and personnel in Baghdad, while advising Iraqi security forces based on assessing the situation in the Middle East country....