Syria's army Tuesday turned its sights on the town of Yabrud, the last rebel stronghold in the strategic Qalamoun region near Lebanon's border, as it moved to open a key highway to Damascus. The town is believed to be where a group of nuns from the historic Christian hamlet of Maalula...

Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel reaffirmed US military ties with Qatar on Tuesday, during a regional tour aimed at shoring up Gulf alliances amid disagreements over policy on Iran and Syria. Hagel met Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and his minister of state for defence, Major...

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over the targeting of people based on their religion, community or ethnic affiliation in Syria, after a group of nuns went missing from the town of Maaloula. Ban, in a statement released Monday, said he "remains deeply troubled by the...

The Palestinian Hamas movement has "resumed" relations with Iran after a temporary falling out over the Syrian conflict, a senior member of the Islamist movement said Monday. "Relations between Hamas and Iran have resumed," Mahmud al-Zahar told reporters at a news conference in Gaza,...