Russia seeks to normalize relations between Ankara and Damascus amid four-way talks in Moscow. Talks between the assistant foreign ministers of Syria, Russia, Iran and Turkey kicked off in Moscow Tuesday in the presence of Russia’s top diplomat, Sergey Lavrov, as part of a Kremlin-led effort to reconcile Ankara and …

Violent clashes at the Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa compound led to heavy rocket fire overnight from the Gaza Strip toward Israeli localities. Israeli forces stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on early Wednesday, arresting at least 300 Palestinians at the height of Ramadan as cross-border fire resumed between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. …

The move is likely retaliation against ties between Kurdish militants and the Iraqi Kurdish Patriotic Union Party. The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that Ankara sealed off its airspace to flights to and from northern Iraq’s Sulaimaniyah International Airport in an apparent retaliation against deepening ties between a major …