(Reuters)- At least four people were killed and seven wounded in overnight air raids by Syrian forces on mountains and valleys near the Lebanese town of Arsal, security sources said on Friday, the latest spillover of violence into the border area. The five air raids struck close to...

Australia, Luxembourg and Jordan circulated a draft resolution to the 15-member U.N. Security Council on Thursday that seeks to boost cross-border humanitarian access in Syria but it was not immediately clear if Russia and China would support the move. After more than a month of...

Israel beefed up its forces along its frontier with the Gaza Strip and launched air strikes against militant Hamas targets there on Thursday in response to Palestinian cross-border rocket attacks. Israel also faced a second day of violent Palestinian protests in Jerusalem...

Germany reached their fourth consecutive World Cup semi-final after defender Mats Hummels' first-half header gave the three-time winners a 1-0 victory over France at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana on Friday. Centre back Hummels, who scored in Germany's first group game but missed the last 16...

Iraqi Kurdish preparations for an independence referendum met with frustration in Washington, which stressed unity was essential to tackle a jihadist-led onslaught that risks "Syria-like chaos". In a rare piece of positive news during the crisis, however, a group of 46 Indian...

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi government airstrikes on Friday targeted Islamic militants trying to capture the country's largest oil refinery, reportedly killing as many as 30 insurgents, authorities said. Fighters from the Islamic State extremist group, who have overrun much of northern...

Washington, July 4 (IANS) US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday they are focusing American military efforts in Iraq on securing the American embassy and personnel in Baghdad, while advising Iraqi security forces based on assessing the situation in the Middle East country....

A source within the coalition supporting ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi claims that they have documented 54 cases of women being raped in detention centres, two of who became pregnant and have not aborted until this day, Anadolu news agency reported on Thursday. This comes...

Translation by Dani Murad The leadership of “Yarmouk” Brigade has confirmed the kidnapping of Moussa al-Zoubi, the Chief of Staff of al Yarmouk Brigade in “Nasib” town, located on the Jordanian and Syrian borders. al Yarmouk , which is one...

(Reporting by Lama Shammas; Translation by Yusra Ahmed) Shaaban and his sister Soaad sat on grass around Atatork status in Taksim Square, eating food and sweet they have received from al-Rahman meals in the square. They were not allowed to sit at the...

Iraq risks descending into "Syria-like chaos" if its political class fails to unite and agree on a government, the United Nations envoy to Baghdad told AFP on Thursday. Nickolay Mladenov urged Iraq's leaders to press on with a political process that involves selecting a...

(AFP)- Women have been the victims of arbitrary arrest, torture, harassment and discrimination at the hands of government and rebel forces in Syria's three-year conflict, Human Rights Watch said Thursday. The New York-based global rights watchdog, in a report, urged the...

  (Zaman Alwasl)- Unknown armed group has kidnapped Captain Basil Zammo near Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey, source told Zaman Alwasl. The senior rebel commander in coastal area was heading Turkey in logistic tour. A day ago,...

(Reuters) -   Iran   has reduced demands for the size of its future nuclear enrichment program in talks with world powers although Western governments are urging Tehran to compromise further, Western diplomats close to the negotiations said on Thursday. The diplomats,...

BEIRUT (AFP) - The jihadist Islamic State (IS) has taken over a string of towns and cities in Syria's oil-rich province of Deir Ezzor and now also controls most of the countryside, a monitor said Thursday.   The province, which abuts Iraq, forms part of the IS's...

    A leading Jordanian jihadist ideologist on Wednesday denounced the declaration of a “caliphate” by Sunni militants in Iraq and Syria, warning against more bloodshed. “Can every Muslim and weak person find refuge in this...

  (Translation by Dani Murad) A new set of leaked documents have revealed what could be considered a “fight” over an apartment, and the parties involved in this angry disagreement are an officer, a non-commissioned officer, an engineer, and a...

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has deployed 30,000 soldiers to its border with Iraq after Iraqi soldiers withdrew from the area, Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television said on Thursday. The world's top oil exporter shares an 800-km (500-mile) border with Iraq, where Islamic State...

GENEVA (AP) — The head of the U.N. refugee agency is warning that the spiraling refugee crisis brought on by Syria's civil war could pose a serious threat to Lebanon's security and destabilize the entire region unless donors quickly provide the unfunded 70 percent of the $3.74...

A Turkish F-4 jet that was downed in June 2012 was not hit by Syrian forces, according to Gürsel Tekin, secretary-general of the Republican People’s Party (CHP). Turkey claims the plane was shot in international airspace with a heat- or laser-guided missile by Syrian forces, but Syria...