Kurdistan's oil exports to world markets are set to be suspended for a second week running, a shipping source said, a move that will deprive Iraq's semi-autonomous region of its main revenue stream as the security situation in southeast Turkey worsens.

• February 23, 2016

The United States and Russia announced plans for a cessation of hostilities in Syria would take effect on Saturday but exclude militants from the Islamic State, Nusra Front and others the United Nations deems as terrorist groups.

• February 22, 2016

The agreements between Russia and the U.S. on a ceasefire in Syria are a real step toward halting the bloodshed and can be an example of action against terrorism, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.

• February 22, 2016

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended Israel's military chief on Sunday after the general was criticized for saying he would not want soldiers confronting a wave of Palestinian stabbings to "empty a magazine" into a girl wielding scissors.

• February 21, 2016

Turkey's presidency said U.S. President Barack Obama had shared his concerns over the Syrian conflict and promised his support on Friday, hours after a tense exchange between the two NATO allies over the role of Kurdish militants.

• February 19, 2016

President Bashar al-Assad was out of step with the views of his main ally, Russia, when he said he planned to fight on until he re-established control over all of Syria, Russia's envoy to the United Nations was quoted as saying on Thursday.

• February 18, 2016

Egyptian authorities have ordered the closure of a prominent local non-governmental organization that documents alleged human rights abuses and treats torture victims, the NGO and security sources said on Wednesday.

• February 17, 2016

Turkey, Saudi Arabia and some European allies want ground troops deployed in Syria but there is no consensus in the coalition and a strategy for such an operation has not been seriously debated, Turkey's foreign minister told Reuters.

• February 16, 2016