The Islamic State group has lost its caliphate in Syria and Iraq, but in the forbidding mountains of northeastern Afghanistan the group is expanding its footprint, recruiting new fighters and plotting attacks on the United States and other Western countries, according to U.S. and Afghan...

New Zealand will begin scaling back its non-combat mission in Iraq next month and bring home the last of its troops by mid-2020, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday. Wellington deployed troops on a "behind-the-wire" training mission in 2015 to boost the ability of the Iraqi Security...

Chinese media on Monday blamed foreign interference over the huge protest that brought central Hong Kong to a standstill at the weekend, accusing opponents of the city's pro-Beijing government of "collusion with the West". Organisers say more than a million people marched through the...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Secondary school students in Syria’s eastern provinces were forced to take their exams in centers controlled by regime forces in Hasaka, Deir al-Zour and Hama, activists said. Activist Mahmoud al-Ahmad said that the secondary school exams went naturally in Hasaka and...

Ferrari said Sunday they will appeal against the five-second penalty that cost Sebastian Vettel victory in the Canadian Grand Prix. Five-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton maintained Mercedes' record winning start to the season when he was handed the controversial victory...

China's exports beat gloomy forecasts to rebound in May though imports sank more than expected as the trade war with the United States heats up, official data showed Monday. The spat between the world's top two economies escalated last month, with President Donald Trump increasing tariffs...

A cautious thaw in long antagonistic relations between Tehran and Washington set in when Iran struck a 2015 deal with six big powers limiting its nuclear activity. But hostility has resurged since President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the accord in 2018 and reimposed sweeping...

The new US ambassador in Baghdad submitted his credentials to Iraq's top diplomat, the foreign ministry announced Sunday, joining the embassy just weeks after Washington brought "non-essential" diplomatic staff home. Matthew Tueller has served as US ambassador to both Yemen and Kuwait, and...

Rafael Nadal swept to an historic 12th Roland Garros title and 18th Grand Slam crown on Sunday with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Austria's Dominic Thiem. The 33-year-old Spaniard becomes the first player, man or woman, to win the same Slam 12 times after seeing off a brave challenge...

US President Donald Trump took to Twitter once again Sunday to accuse the messaging platform of gagging conservative voices -- a "Giant Mistake!" that he said runs counter to freedom of expression. "Twitter should let the banned Conservative Voices back onto their platform, without...

Hundreds of mourners attended the burial of a Syrian goalkeeper turned opposition fighter Sunday after he died of wounds sustained in battle against regime forces. Abdel-Basset al-Sarout, 27, died on Saturday after he was wounded on Thursday night in clashes on the edge of the embattled...

The head of Iraq's forensics administration says his office will begin DNA testing to identify the remains of 141 bodies found in mass graves, believed to contain the Yazidi victims of Daesh’s (ISIS) killing campaign five years ago. Zaid al-Yousef says the bodies were found in 12 graves...

The Israeli military says naval forces boarded a cargo ship off the coast that had been set on fire. The military says it was alerted early Sunday to an anchored ship off northern Israel whose hull was ablaze. At the request of the ship's captain, Israeli forces boarded and searched the...

Venezuela has announced it will close its consulates in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, leaving only its embassy in Ottawa to handle its affairs in Canada. The Venezuelan foreign ministry, which announced the decision Saturday, said it was in response to Canada's temporary closing of its...

Germany's top diplomat on Sunday reaffirmed his country's support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict ahead of a long-awaited US peace plan. "We are still in agreement that reaching a two-state solution through negotiations is the only solution," Heiko Maas said...

Hundreds of Jewish settlers on Sunday forced their way into East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, according to Jerusalem's Religious Endowments Authority.  "Israeli police shut the compound's Al-Mugharbah Gate after allowing 334 settlers through it into the site," the...

Warplanes affiliated with East Libya-based forces launched an airstrike in the city of Zawiya, west of Tripoli, on Sunday, according to a local military source. The attack targeted a blacksmith workshop east of the city, the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on...

The head of the International Monetary Fund warned Sunday that global trade tensions posed the "principal threat" to the world economic outlook and U.S.-China tariffs could make a "significant dent" in any recovery. "The principal threat stems from continuing trade tensions," said Christine...

Rafael Nadal admits the prospect of winning a 12th Roland Garros title and 18th major on Sunday would have once just seemed liked an "incredible" dream in a career so often at the mercy of a succession of morale-sapping injuries. However, he knows he cannot under-estimate Austria's Dominic...

Sri Lanka's Parliament warned President Maithripala Sirisena not to scuttle a controversial investigation into security lapses before the Easter suicide bombings, the Speaker's office said Sunday. The warning came after Sirisena said he would not cooperate with the parliamentary probe and...