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...

Lebanese authorities are mobilising to help Syrian refugees living in makeshift camps ahead of a winter storm expected to bring snow and heavy rain, the social affairs minister said Monday. "The ministry, in cooperation with UNHCR and all our partners, has mobilised to do what's...

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,...