(Vox)- The hot new policy idea in Washington is the hottest old idea: direct US military intervention in Syria’s civil war. In the past several months, the siege of the rebel-held eastern part of the city of Aleppo has dramatized the war’s terrible cost. In the last debate, Hillary Clinton...

Daesh is recruiting fighters from outside the Mosul, Iraq, to reinforce its defense in the city that is currently under siege, the Pentagon said Monday. “We see them taking administrative and support personnel, people who are not normally under arms. But they are now arming them. We also see...

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to his Philippines counterpart over the weekend, emphasizing strong and stable ties between the allies after comments by the Philippines president raised questions about bilateral relations, the State Department said on Monday. State Department...

(The Daily Star)- Visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Monday defended Turkey's post-coup state of emergency but rankled his hosts when he appeared to criticize how it was being implemented. "Regarding the state of emergency, Turkey has every right to defend and protect...

Syrian refugee children have been working in factories in Turkey making clothes for British high street retailer Marks & Spencer and online store ASOS, an investigation by BBC Panorama found. The investigation, to be broadcast Monday evening, found Syrian refugees as young as 15 working...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Huge number of Baath Party members are recruited in armed battalions formed by Homs provincial Baath branch. Zaman al-Wasl obtained a survey stating that the number of those recruited reached 4281 members making up almost a military brigade. The document shows that Baath...

(The Daily Star)- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the situation in Syria in a phone call and agreed that experts will continue searching for ways to resolve Aleppo crisis, Russia's foreign ministry said on Monday. The ministry said in a...

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem will hold talks with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Friday, Russia's deputy foreign minister said Monday. "Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem's visit to Moscow and his talks with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov are expected on...

More than 3,800 people have been displaced in areas around Mosul since a major offensive was launched last week to oust Daesh from the northern Iraqi city, according to the ministry of migration and displacement Monday. Some 904 people were transferred Sunday from Bashiqa and Gayara fronts...

 Leicester City heroes Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez, stars in their team's fairytale run to the Premier League title, have been named on a 30-player longlist for the 2016 Ballon d'Or. Vardy -- who has enjoyed a meteoric rise from amateur football to rub shoulders with the game's biggest...

(Zaman al-Wasl)- Syrian resistance factions thwarted new regime attacks backed up by Lebanese Hezbollah militia Monday on Salah al-Din neighborhood in Aleppo city. The factions killed scores from the attacking forces and took 2 as captives according to Nur al-Din al-Zanki Movement whereas...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- The Assad regime escalated its bombing on Douma city in Eastern Ghouta, killing 5 people and injuring tens according to preliminary reports, activists reported Monday. Douma Coordination Committee said the missiles launched by regime rocket launchers carried cluster...

NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - More than 75,000 people have fled their homes and 18 have been killed during three weeks of clashes in Somalia, the United Nations said on Monday, warning that women and children sleeping in the open will suffer as the rainy season looms. Clashes...

The woman said that her husband was an Islamic State fighter but that she left him after trying, in vain, to persuade to him to defect. Last week, she took their six children and fled across the battle lines toward ground controlled by the Iraqi army, she said. But as the woman spoke in a...

Oil prices fell on Monday as Iraq said it wanted to be exempt from an OPEC deal to cut production, though losses were capped by Iran saying it would encourage other members to join an output freeze. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 45 cents at $51.33 a barrel by 1340 GMT. U.S. West Texas...

Life is returning to normal for residents of Jarabulus in northern Syria, two months after Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army liberated the city in Aleppo province, residents told Anadolu Agency. Muhammed Habes, Jarabulus council president, told Anadolu Agency Monday the once ghost city is now...

(The Daily Star)- Egypt's interior minister warned in comments published Monday that the country faced "unprecedented challenges" that required a "decisive" response by security forces, accusing the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood of scheming to incite chaos. The minister's comments, which...

A Hamas militant was killed on Monday when a tunnel collapsed in the Gaza Strip, the group's military wing said in a statement. The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades named the man as Amir Jaber Abu Taimeh and said the accident occurred in the town of Khan Yunes. It gave no further details....

Libyan government forces have freed two Turkish nationals held by Daesh militants in the northern city of Sirte, according to a local military official. “The two Turks are now in a safe place in Sirte under the protection of government forces,” Ibrahim Beit al-Mal, the head of the Misrata...

 Syrian state media and opposition activists say government forces and their allies have captured a high point in the city of Aleppo where fighting with rebel groups resumed over the weekend. The SANA news agency said on Monday that the government troops took the hilltop of Bazo on the...