Pentagon Chief Statement hints division of Syria

News Analysis | Russian and US forces have been communicating across the "deconfliction line" in Syria despite glitches, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters...

Video of stray dog poisoning sparks outrage in Lebanon

AFP | Video footage of stray dogs apparently being poisoned by municipal staff has sparked a public outcry in Lebanon, with politicians rushing to post...

Could the US be responsible for anti-government protests in Iran?

James M Dorsey | In supporting recent anti-government protests in Iran, both Iranian hardliners and the US State Department may want to be careful what...

Israel to leave UNESCO on 31st December

AFP | Israel has formally notified the UN's culture and education body of its withdrawal from the organisation, two months after it announced it would...

Dozens killed as fierce fighting in northwest Syria continues

AFP | Intense fighting killed dozens of people on the edge of the last Syrian province entirely outside government control as aid workers completed a...

ISIS claims Egypt church attack that killed 9

AFP | A gunman opened fire on a church south of Cairo on Friday, killing at least nine people in the latest apparent jihadist attack...

52 people protesting high prices arrested in Iran

AFP | An Iranian official said Friday that 52 people had been arrested in the previous day's protests against high prices that highlighted deep-rooted economic...

After years of war Iraq now battles corruption

AFP | They have fled the country, their pockets full, or been released from prison under amnesties: despite Iraq's "war" on corruption, those guilty of...

Palestinian teen the centre of propaganda war with Israel

AFP  | Ahed Tamimi is only a teenager, but has repeatedly been at the centre of the seemingly endless propaganda war between Israelis and Palestinians,...

Saudi air raid kills 68 civilians in one day in Yemen: UN

AFP | Sixty-eight Yemeni civilians were killed in two separate air raids by the Saudi-led Arab coalition in one day, the UN humanitarian Coordinator in...

Saudi king, Turkey PM discuss Jerusalem status at talks

AFP | Saudi King Salman and Turkey's premier on Wednesday discussed boosting ties and the status of Jerusalem, in a first high-level meeting since the...

Morality police in Iran taking softer line on Islamic codes: chief

AFP | Iranian police are taking a softer approach to breaches of Islamic rules, opting for education over punishment, Tehran's police chief said on Wednesday.  "According...