Airstrikes attributed to Israel over Syria's capital early Wednesday critically wounded one soldier, Syrian state media reported.
Syria's state news agency, SANA, citing military officials, said the strikes over southwest Damascus also caused "material damage" without giving further details.
Full StoryIraq has urged countries to repatriate their citizens from a sprawling camp in Syria housing tens of thousands linked to the extremist Islamic State group, saying it has become a "source for terrorism."
The statements were made during a conference in Baghdad discussing al-Hol camp in northeast Syria. Iraqi officials, the U.N. representative in Iraq, some members of the international coalition fighting IS and ambassadors of several countries were present.
Full StoryThe World Bank and Jordan are using a "flawed" algorithm to calculate aid for the kingdom, excluding some people who are impoverished, hungry or otherwise struggling, a leading rights group said Tuesday.
Human Rights Watch reported that the automated program ranks the income and socio-economic status of Jordanian families, a practice known as "poverty targeting." The report said that approach leaves out some needy people — such as the owners of modest businesses — in a nation of 11 million, increasing poverty and with more than 1 million Syrian refugees.
Full StoryThe United Nations has secured an insurance coverage to start a ship-to-ship transfer of 1.1 million barrels of crude from a rusting tanker moored off the coast of war-torn Yemen — oil that could cause a major environmental disaster.
The United Nations Development Program described the insurance is "a pivotal milestone" in a yearslong effort to evacuate the cargo of the FSO Safer, which is at risk of rupture or exploding.
Full StoryA helicopter accident in northeastern Syria over the weekend left 22 American service members injured, the U.S. military said Tuesday, adding that the cause of the accident was under investigation and that no enemy fire was involved.
The military statement said the service members were receiving treatment and 10 were moved to "higher care facilities" outside the region.
Full StoryPalestinian leader Mahmud Abbas arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, state media reported, with China expressing readiness to help facilitate Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Abbas will stay until Friday, Beijing has said, on his fifth official visit to the world's second-largest economy.
Full StoryU.N. cultural and scientific agency UNESCO announced Monday that the United States plans to rejoin — and pay more than $600 million in back dues — after a decade-long dispute sparked by the organization's move to include Palestine as a member.
U.S. officials say the decision to return was motivated by concern that China is filling the gap left by the U.S. in UNESCO policymaking, notably in setting standards for artificial intelligence and technology education around the world.
Full StoryTurkish shelling in northern Syria early Monday hit a vehicle killing one Russian soldier and injuring several others, Syrian Kurdish media and an opposition war monitor reported.
Monday's shelling came after a day of violence between U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters and Turkish troops in northern Syria left several dead on the Kurdish side.
Full StoryIsrael's opposition leader testified for the prosecution on Monday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his corruption trial in Jerusalem.
Yair Lapid, a former prime minister himself and a major Netanyahu rival, is testifying in one of three cases against Netanyahu. The indictment claims Netanyahu used his position of power to further Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan's interests in exhange for gifts, representing a conflict between the premier's public duties and personal friendship.
Full StoryIraq's parliament on Monday approved a budget that boosts public spending in the war-scarred nation and grants the federal government the upper hand over oil exports from the autonomous Kurdistan region.
The 198.9 trillion dinar ($153 billion) budget -- valid for three years though subject to future amendments -- also sets out record spending on public wages, investments and development projects.
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