(Reuters) - Flagging in opinion polls before Tuesday's election in  Israel , Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to rally rightists by casting his center-left challengers as tools of a global campaign to usurp power. Over social media and broadcast interviews, the...

(Reuters) -  Iraq i Kurdish authorities said on Saturday they had evidence that Islamic State had used chlorine gas as a chemical weapon against their peshmerga fighters in northern Iraq in January. The Security Council of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region said in a...

(Reuters) - On the eve of fresh talks with  Iran , U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said it was unclear whether an interim agreement over its nuclear power program was within reach. "I can't tell you whether or not we can get a deal, whether we are close," Kerry told a news...

Translation by  Yusra  Ahmed    “Raise Your Revolution’s Flag” campaign, which  launched by  activists in Aleppo  has widely spread among social media by activists in and out Syria in In reviving the fourth...

Syrian rebels, in letter to the Syrian opposition, called for urgent reinforcements and Arms supply for fighters of  Qalamoun  mountains since Lebanese militias have gripped the bond on rebel enclaves in the strategic border territory.    Qalamoun...

GENEVA, March 12 (UNHCR)  –  As the Syrian conflict enters its fifth year, the UN refugee agency warned on Thursday that millions of refugees in neighbouring countries and those displaced within the country are caught in deteriorating conditions, facing an even bleaker future...

Turkey opened fire on a migrant ship carrying over 300 men, women and children fleeing Syria, coast guard officials have confirmed. Officials detained 337 Syrian refugees who were discovered on a 59 metre-long cargo ship off Turkey's western coast. Eighty-five of the refugees on board...

As Syria descended further and further into a bloody civil war, Damascus-born clarinetist  Kinan Azmeh  found that he was unable to write new music. “Especially for the first year,” Azmeh, who lives in Brooklyn, said, “because there’s something much bigger happening than what I...

As Syria's civil war enters its fifth year, 14 million children are suffering from the escalating violence sweeping  Syria  and much of Iraq, according to the UN's children's agency.   "I miss Aleppo so much, but what I miss most is the food in Aleppo," Hanaa...

Four peop le , including 2  children, have been killed on Friday in  Syrian  regime's air strikes on  embattled city of  Douma  northeast of Damascus, local coordination said.   Douma coordination said Bashar al-Assad's air...

(BY Abdullah Al  Ghadawi ; Translation by  Yusra  Ahmed)   ٍSyrian opposition group, the Free National Rally for State workers,  has revealed its budget and spending for the last two years (2013-2014),  documented wit h precise figures...

(Reuters) - The Red Cross has only sporadic access to areas of  Iraq  and Syria held by Islamic State, despite huge needs of 10 million people living under their control, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Friday. Peter Maurer, in...

(Reuters) - Frustrated by guerrilla tactics from Islamic State militants, Iraqi forces paused for reinforcements on Friday in a major offensive to take back the city of Tikrit. The operation appeared to have stalled for the time being, two days after Iraqi security forces and their...

(Reuters) - Oil prices might have stabilized only temporarily because the global oil glut is worsening and U.S. production shows no sign of slowing, the International Energy Agency said on Friday. The West's energy watchdog said the United States may soon run out of spare capacity to...

  (Reuters) - An alleged spy detained in Turkey for helping three British girls cross into Syria is a Syrian national working for a country in the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, the Turkish foreign minister said on Friday. Mevlut Cavusoglu announced on Thursday that a spy...

Fighters of   the  N usra  Front  on Thursday have withdrawn from B eit  Sahem  suburb of Southern Damascus in step to end infighting with Sham al- Rasoul  rebel group, Islam Army's spokes man told Zaman al- Wasl .  ...

(Reuters) - Indonesian officials confirmed on Friday that up to 32 Indonesians had been detained in  Turkey  or gone missing after being suspected of trying to cross into Syria to join Islamic State (IS) militants. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told reporters a group of...

 Local groups outside the formal aid sector, many formed "around the kitchen table", are helping to fill gaps in the humanitarian response in  Syria , reaching communities big agencies cannot access, a leading think tank said on Friday. Small charities, activists and diaspora...

Suspected war criminals in  Syria  will face justice for gross violations against civilians someday as the evidence against all sides grows, the U.N. human rights chief said on Thursday. Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, speaking on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the start of the...

(Reuters) - The leader of the Islamic State militant group that controls tracts of  Syria  and Iraq has accepted a pledge of allegiance from Nigerian Islamists Boko Haram, his spokesman said, calling on supporters to fight in Africa. Boko Haram, which has killed...