Eurasia

Britain will not work with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to combat Islamic State (IS) fighters in the country and his permission would not be needed for any military intervention, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Friday. Hammond also said Britain had no plans to arm moderate fighters in Syria’s civil war, …

About 700,000 Iraqis have gathered in the Kurdish north after being driven from their homes by jihadist fighters, the United Nations said Aug. 22 as it stepped up a massive aid operation to the region. “The Kurdistan region of Iraq is now hosting close to 700,000 displaced Iraqis, most having …

Russia sent dozens of aid trucks into rebel-held eastern Ukraine on Friday without Kiev’s approval, saying its patience had worn out with the Ukrainian government’s stalling tactics. Ukraine called the move a “direct invasion”.

Militants targeted a Sunni mosque in a province next to the Iraqi capital during Friday prayers, killing at least 46 people and wounding over 50 as members of the Islamic State group continue to push through the area, officials said.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso held talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Tuesday, condemning the shelling of a refugee convoy in eastern Ukraine.

Government troops fought to gain control of the rebel-held city of Donetsk and a key highway in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday — battles that left 34 residents and nine troops dead in just 24 hours, authorities said. The Ukrainian troops are trying to encircle Donetsk, the largest city still in …

 The Russian defense ministry said on Wednesday it was conducting fresh military exercises in the south of the country as fighting intensified between rebels and government forces in Ukraine. On Tuesday, fighting erupted in the heart of major rebel stronghold Lugansk, as the bodies of 17 civilians fleeing the city …

French President Francois Hollande called on Wednesday for an international conference to discuss ways of tackling “Islamic State” insurgents who have seized control of territory in Iraq and Syria.

The EU on Wednesday expressed deep concern over the current situation in Pakistan and said it is monitoring events closely. “We reiterate our conviction that the current impasse should be resolved peacefully through dialogue within the framework of the Constitution and we urge all parties to act responsibly and to …

Moroccan police say they have dismantled a nine-person cell recruiting volunteers to fight with the radical Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq. The interior ministry statement on Thursday said the investigation into the network, based in the cities of Tetouan, Fez and Fnideq, was carried out in co-operation with …