DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — After eight years of planning and billions of dollars in spending, the Middle East's first ever World Fair opened on Friday in Dubai, with hopes the months-long extravaganza draws both visitors and global attention to this desert-turned-dreamscape. Named...

Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks Wednesday in the Black Sea resort of Sochi that were expected to focus on war-torn Syria. It was the first in-person meeting for Putin in over two weeks. On Sept. 14, the Russian president went...

At least 12 people died of COVID-19 on Tuesday in northwestern Syria, topping the death toll to 1124 since the pandemic spread in the opposition-held areas, a local health facility said Wednesday.  The Early Warning and Epidemic Response Network has also recorded 1,270 infections in...

Days before Germany’s federal elections, Facebook took what it called an unprecedented step: the removal of a series of accounts that worked together to spread COVID-19 misinformation and encourage violent responses to COVID restrictions. The crackdown, announced Sept. 16, was the first...