Iraqi forces said they were about to complete the encirclement of ISIS's stronghold in the Old City of Mosul, after taking control of a neighboring district on Thursday. Iraq's military said it had captured Bab Sinjar, north of the historic, densely-populated district where the militants...

The United Nations urged Russia, Iran and Turkey on Thursday to open up areas of Syria to the delivery of humanitarian aid in "de-escalation" zones whose parameters the three are meant to finalize. The three countries brokered a deal in the Kazakh capital, Astana, in May to create four...

Cristiano Ronaldo reacted to accusations that he evaded paying taxes of 14.7 million euros ($16.4 million) by saying that remaining silent was the "best answer". "Sometimes the best answer it's to be quiet," the Real Madrid star forward said on Instagram with a photo of himself in a Portugal...

 A senior constitutional panel in Egypt has concluded that two courts, which ruled to annul an agreement to transfer control of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, had acted within their jurisdiction. The panel's report - published on Thursday in Egyptian media - defies Egypt's...

Her childhood shattered by "grown-up stuff", Myriam Rawick was only eight years old when she began recording her terrifying experiences during the siege of Aleppo, Syria's second city. "I woke up one morning to the sound of things breaking, people shouting 'Allahu Akbar' ('God is greatest'...

The United Nations said it will not be "engaged in any way or form" in the process surrounding the independence referendum in Iraq's northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region planned for September. The statement by the U.N. special mission to Iraq, or UNAMI, released late Wednesday could cast...

Several thousand Turkish protesters marched in the capital Ankara on Thursday to demonstrate against the 25-year prison sentence handed down to an opposition lawmaker on spying charges. A court on Wednesday sentenced Enis Berberoglu, a lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People's...

On his maiden trip to Kabul, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the need for a peaceful solution to the Afghan conflict while urging Pakistan and Afghanistan to resolve their differences via dialogue. Guterres concluded his one-day trip to the Afghan capital on Thursday. Upon his...

In defiance of a court ruling, Egypt’s Parliament voted Wednesday to ratify a disputed 2016 agreement that would transfer two strategic Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. The vote, in which lawmakers in favor were asked to stand up, came shortly after the 596-seat chamber opened a debate on the...

The death toll in a fire disaster that destroyed a 24-storey block of flats in London was expected to rise on Thursday, with many people still missing and firefighters facing hazardous conditions as they searched the charred body. Smoke was still wafting out of the shell of the Grenfell...

Islamic State militants in Raqqa are passing themselves off as civilians to try to avoid intensifying air strikes and shooting anyone caught trying to escape their Syrian bastion as U.S.-backed coalition forces close in, witnesses said. At a camp for the displaced in the village of Ain Issa...

Desperately trying to avoid the flames, residents stuck in a burning London apartment tower threw one baby and other small children from high windows to people down on the sidewalk, witnesses said. The inferno lit up the night sky and spewed black smoke from the windows of the 24-story Grenfell...

(Eqtsad)- Several Syrians wishing to obtain new passports from the Syrian consulate in Istanbul complained about brokers’ offices and individuals scamming them by selling them fake appoints. The complaints emerge as its remains impossible for Syrians to register for an appointment on the...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian regime helicopters have dropped more than 600 barrel bombs on southern Daraa province in the last two weeks as well its warplanes have conducted at least 180 raids, including 83 Napalm bomb raids, Civil Defense said Thursday. The local monitoring group said also 580...

(Zaman Al Wasl) At the regime security zone in Qamishli city, a few meters separate regime army members and a People’s Protection Unit traffic policeman. Neither party seems concerned with the other. The famous security zone in Qamishli city, which generated many questions for Syrians, is a...

Syria has given the United Nations permission to get aid to the Kurdish-dominated city of Qamishli by truck, the organization said on Wednesday, relieving the strain on a base supporting thousands displaced by the war with ISIS. Although Qamishli lies on the Turkish border, the crossing is...

A UPS employee opened fire at a San Francisco package delivery facility on Wednesday, injuring four and prompting a massive police response in a neighborhood near downtown, officials said. UPS spokesman Steve Gaut told The Associated Press that an employee fired inside the facility before...

The U.S. military has moved a new truck-mounted, long-range rocket launcher from Jordan to a U.S. base in Tanf, Syria near the Iraqi and Jordanian borders, stepping up its presence in the area, two regional intelligence sources said on Wednesday. They said the HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery...

U.S. troops based in Syria's southeastern desert have expanded their footprint, rebels there say, increasing the risk of direct ground confrontation between the Americans and Iran-backed pro-government forces. U.S. special forces have been based since last year at Tanf, a strategic Syrian...

Kosovo prosecutors said on Wednesday they had charged nine Kosovar men with planning attacks at a World Cup soccer match in Albania against the visiting Israel team and its fans last November. Last year, Kosovar police arrested 19 people - including the nine charged on Wednesday - on...