Middle East
Saudi MERS death toll surges to 282
A report by the official Saudi Press Agency said authorities have registered a total of 688 confirmed infections and 282 deaths as ...Syrians vote in presidential elections
Syrians voted Tuesday in a presidential election that is all but guaranteed to hand Bashar Assad another seven-year term.Sandstorm kills at least 4 in Iran capital
A massive sandstorm and record winds killed at least four people in Tehran on Monday, plunging the Iranian capital into darkness, knocking ...Three Turks killed in Afghan suicide bomb attack
A suicide bomber killed three Turkish engineers and wounded another on Monday in eastern Afghanistan, officials said, the latest attack on foreigners ...Iran executes man despite international pressure
Iran on Sunday hanged a man said to be affiliated to an exiled opposition group, state media reported, despite international pressure on ...Department of Ironic Defense
By Tom H. Hastings Like so many other US military bases overseas, the Okinawan locals who oppose the base are told that ...UN says Iraqi violence claimed 799 lives in May
A total of 799 Iraqis were killed and 1,409 others injured in violent attacks in May, most of whom civilians, according to ...Egypt votes in presidential election
Egyptians have headed to the polls to elect a new president with ex-army chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi widely expected to win.Car bombing in northern Iraq kills 12
A car bomb exploded outside a liquor store in northern Iraq overnight, killing at least 12 civilians, a senior police officer said ...Pope Francis prays at Bethlehem wall, calls for Middle East peace
Pope Francis invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres to pray together at the Vatican for peace between their ...