Ruling party under Prime Minister Erdogan overcomes sleaze and graft claims to boost support, according to early unofficial results. The ruling AK Party leads the polls in Sunday's local elections in Turkey, looking set to increase its votes in the first ballot...

Dozens of troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were killed in two attacks carried out by rebels in Aleppo, opposition sources reported on Sunday. Ziad Hajj Obeid, a commander for the rebel Free Syrian Army, said their forces carried two “special operations’ in the city,...

  King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia Thursday appointed his half-brother Moqren bin Abdul Aziz as the next heir to the throne, paving the way for him to become a future king.  The move was announced by a royal decree broadcast by state television channel Al-Ikhbariya.  Under...

US President Barack Obama has met Pope Francis for the first time to discuss how to fight global inequality and poverty, calling himself a "great admirer" of the pontiff. Obama arrived at the Vatican on Thursday amid the pomp and tradition of the Catholic Church, making his way to...