The UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said Wednesday he was "not expecting a breakthrough" at peace talks this week but voiced hope that rival sides could build "momentum" towards a deal. "Am I expecting a breakthrough? No, I am not expecting a breakthrough," de Mistura told reporters...

Turkey will lift a historic ban on female officers wearing the Islamic headscarf in the officially secular country's armed forces, state media said Wednesday. The military was the final Turkish institution where women were prohibited from wearing the headscarf, after reforms by the...

A Syrian asylum seeker went on trial in Austria on Wednesday accused of killing 20 government soldiers fighting for President Bashar Assad near the city of Homs, a court spokesman said. Austria has jailed several people for "belonging to a terrorist organisation", a charge usually levelled...

Russia is open for dialogue with the United States on safe zones in Syria but believes that any such initiative needs to be coordinated with the Syrian government, Moscow's top diplomat said Wednesday. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he had briefly discussed the issue with U.S. Secretary...