Australia's immigration minister rejects a call by an MP to close its borders to refugees from the Middle East, in the wake of the Paris attacks

Populist leaders around Europe rushed to demand an end to an influx of refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa on Saturday after a wave of deadly attacks in Paris claimed by Islamic State militants.

Forget principles and morality. Forget, or try to forget, the quarter-million deaths for which Bashar al-Assad is responsible, directly or indirectly, since choosing to respond with violence to a peaceful uprising of the Syrian people.

At least 45 people have been killed in Russian air strikes on a rebel-held area of north-western Syria, a monitoring group says.

Eight senior figures from Islamic State were killed in an air strike while meeting in a town in western Iraq, but the group's reclusive leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi did not appear to be among them.

One AP investigation uncovered an attempt to sell bomb-grade uranium to a real buyer from the Middle East, the first known case of its kind.

The EU is beginning a new operation to intercept boats smuggling migrants across the southern Mediterranean.

President Vladimir Putin secures parliament's unanimous backing to launch air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria, paving the way for imminent Russian military intervention in its closest Middle East ally.

People around the world watch the skies to observe a rare celestial event, as a lunar eclipse coincides with a so-called "supermoon".

Syria's civil war has prompted the first withdrawal of crop seeds from a "doomsday" vault built in an Arctic mountainside to safeguard global food supplies.

Seeking to sell his nuclear deal with Iran to a skeptical Israeli public, President Barack Obama has repeatedly declared his deep affection for the Jewish state. But the feelings do not appear to be mutual.

If it wasn't for the grey skies and the chilly drizzle, I would have thought I'm somewhere in the Middle East.

A large dust storm hits western parts of the Middle East, putting dozens of people in hospital and leading to public health warnings.

A total of 31 Bangladeshis, who survived the boat capsize off Libyan coast on August 24, will be repatriated home by next week.

The UN has said that conflicts in the Middle East are depriving more than 13 million children of an education.

Thousands of migrants are arriving in mainland Greece as the government prepares for talks on tackling the huge number of people reaching its shores.

The Austrian authorities say at least 20 migrants have been found dead in a lorry in the eastern province of Burgenland.

Inbound remittance from expatriate workers in the Middle East in fiscal year 2014-15 stood slightly above US$9 billion reflecting a rise of 8 percent from the level of previous year.

Post World War II power balance between Zionist Israel and Arab-Persian Muslim countries, who considered Israel as a “pushed in state” in Middle East, is now being replaced in the post-Iran treaty era by an emerging strategic balance between Iran on one side, and Israel plus Gulf Arab countries on the other side.

Climate change is increasing the risk of severe 'food shocks' where crops fail and prices of staples rise rapidly around the world.