Syrian President Bashar al Assad said in an interview broadcast yesterday that Western countries had sent security officials to help his

Israel should stop building settlements and the Palestinians should cease incitement to violence, the Middle East diplomatic quartet

Saudi Arabia is to issue electronic bracelets to pilgrims travelling to Mecca for this year's Hajj, the world's largest Islamic gathering. It follows a stampede last year in which more than 750 people are believed to have died, with 900 injured.

An Egyptian Coptic priest was shot dead yesterday in the Sinai Peninsula where authorities are battling a jihadist insurgency,

Authoritarian firebrand Rodrigo Duterte warned of a "rough ride" after being sworn in as the Philippines' president

Who can lay claim to Rumi, the Sufi mystic who is one of the world's most beloved poets? A bid by Iran and Turkey to

A member of Indonesia's notoriously corrupt police is to be honoured for refusing to accept bribes during his 40-year

At least 70 regime and rebel fighters have been killed in 24 hours in a government assault and a jihadist-led counterattack in

US-led coalition aircraft waged a series of deadly strikes against Islamic State around the city of Falluja on Wednesday, US officials tell Reuters, with one citing a preliminary estimate of at least 250 suspected fighters killed and at least 40 vehicles destroyed.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's uncle, suspected of using ill-gotten gains to build a real estate empire in France,

A suicide bomber detonated explosives at a Sunni mosque near Baghdad where worshippers were gathered for prayers,

Intensified fighting and air strikes over the past 24 hours in Yemen have left 80 people dead, including 37 civilians,

The commander of Iraqi forces that retook Fallujah from the Islamic State group said yesterday the operation had been carried out with

Pope Francis yesterday issued a rallying cry to protect memory at the Armenian genocide memorial in Yerevan, on day

A Palestinian woman rammed her car into a West Bank checkpoint yesterday, wounding two Israelis before being shot

Dubai is breaking new ground with its decision to loosen rules prohibiting day-time alcohol sales during the Muslim

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested Turkey could hold a referendum over whether to continue its long-stalled accession process to join the European Union.

Warplanes have bombed the Islamic State group's de facto Syrian capital Raqa, killing at least 25 civilians, after the jihadists drove pro-government forces out of their bastion.

At least 25 people have been killed and dozens injured in an explosion at an ammunition store in the western Libyan town of Garabulli.

Attacks on hospitals since Syria's war broke out five years ago leaves more than 700 doctors and medical workers dead, many of them in air strikes, according to UN investigators.