LafargeHolcim (LHN.S) Chief Executive Eric Olsen will leave the company in July, the world's largest cement maker said on Monday, in the wake of an investigation into allegations the company paid armed groups in Syria to keep a plant operating. The company admitted in March that its plant in...

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani accepted the resignations of his defense minister and army chief of staff on Monday, after more than 140 soldiers were killed last week in the deadliest ever Taliban attack on a military base, the president's office said. "Defense Minister Abdullah Habibi and...

 Pro-European centrist Emmanuel Macron and anti-immigration leader Marine Le Pen began a final duel for the French Presidency Monday, after a first round of voting delivered a stunning blow to the traditional political class. Macron is clear favorite to become France's youngest...

( The New Arab )- As a boy, Palestinian Abdullah Abu Massoud fled the war over the birth of Israel in 1948 and sought refuge in the nearby Gaza Strip. As an adult, Abu Massoud was displaced again when Israeli forces captured Gaza, along with the West Bank and east Jerusalem, in 1967. He...

Cement group LafargeHolcim says its chief executive officer is resigning, weeks after the multinational acknowledged that its branch in northern Syria had struck deals with armed groups so that it could keep business there running. The resignation of Eric Olsen is effective July 15, the...

Britain's former ambassador to Syria who defended President Bashar al-Assad had already accepted a senior position in a lobby group run by the dictator's father-in-law, The Telegraph reported. Peter Ford had sparked outrage earlier this month when he claimed in a BBC interview that Assad would...

French far right leader Marine Le Pen vowed on Sunday to defend France against "rampant globalisation" after she qualified to fight out the second round of the country's presidential election against centrist Emmanuel Macron. "This result is historic. It puts on me a huge responsibility to...

( The Guardian )- The family of the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing is to launch a fresh attempt to clear his name. Aamer Anwar, a lawyer representing Libyan Abdelbaset al-Megrahi’s family, confirmed files would be handed to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC)...

Islamic State group fighters disguised as soldiers ambushed a government convoy in a remote desert region of western Iraq Sunday, killing 10 members of the security forces, commanders said. "Daesh (IS) members armed with assault rifles and rocket launchers attacked civilian and military...

 Centrist Emmanuel Macron should enter the May 7 runoff for the French presidency after topping Sunday's first round of voting but the identity of his challenger is too close to call, Belgian newspaper La Libre Belgique said on its website, citing an unidentified pollster's forecast based...

 (Zaman Al Wasl)- The Islamic State on Sunday launched counterattack on the U.S.-led forces near Tabqa city, taking advantage of a sand storm sweeping the northeastern province of Raqqa. ISIS fighters attacked bastions of the Syrian Democratic Forces in the villages of Ayed al-Kabir,...

A Palestinian teenager stabbed and slightly wounded four Israelis in Tel Aviv on Sunday, police said, adding that the suspect was arrested. The 18-year-old used a wire-cutter to carry out the attack in a hotel and on the city's seaside promenade, wounding four people who were given first aid...

France voted on Sunday in the first round of a bitterly fought presidential election that could define the future of the European Union, and is sure to be seen as a gauge of the anti-establishment anger that has brought upsets in Western politics. Over 50,000 police and 7,000 soldiers backed...

Deep and "unbreakable" ties between Germany and Israel are part of Germany's national identity and pillars of its foreign policy, but Berlin will continue to press for a two-state solution, Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Sunday. "With respect to the Middle East conflict, our...

 Heavy two-way traffic of carts carrying children, clothes, and the elderly crowded the main Baghdad-Mosul road on Sunday as hundreds of Iraqis fled heavy fighting or made their way back to areas liberated from ISIS. Families paid no heed to the sound of heavy mortar, artillery and...

The leader of Britain's main opposition Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn said on Sunday he could suspend British involvement in air strikes against Syria if he was elected prime minister at a June 8 election. The veteran peace campaigner, whose Labour Party is around 20 points behind the ruling...

( The New Arab )- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrived in Riyadh on Sunday for talks with Saudi King Salman in a bid to end to an ongoing rift between Cairo and the Kingdom. The visit comes in response to an invitation extended by King Salman earlier this month when the two...

 Three policemen were killed on Sunday in a suicide attack south of Mosul, the northern Iraqi city where ISIS is fighting off a U.S.-backed offensive, security sources said. A group of about 10 assailants, including four suicide bombers, had tried to infiltrate a Federal Police...

A Filipino soldier kidnapped last week in the southern Philippines by Abu Sayyaf militants was found beheaded, the military said on Sunday, hours after government troops killed three more members of the ISIS-linked group in a clash elsewhere. The head of Sergeant Anni Siraji of the Army's...

Two Qatari hunters who endured a 16-month hostage ordeal in Iraq spoke Sunday of their joy at being released, in the first public comments since the group were freed. Mohammed Marzouki was among 24 Qataris and two Saudis who were on a hunting trip in a mainly Shiite area of southern Iraq...