Middle East
US halts Syrian embassy, consulate operations, orders diplomats out
U.S. officials have told the Syrian embassy in Washington to suspend operations. They say any Syrian diplomats who are not U.S. citizens ...Gunmen kill five army police officers in attack near Cairo: state media
Several army police officers have been killed in an attack on a checkpoint on the outskirts of Cairo, Egyptian state media report.East African states to send troops to monitor South Sudan ceasefire
East African countries have agreed to send troops to South Sudan, to help enforce a shaky cease-fire deal between government and rebel ...42 African migrants drown off Yemen coast
Forty-two African migrants have drowned when their boat capsized off the coast of Yemen, according to officials.Nuns held by Syrian rebels released after three months
Rebels in Syria freed more than a dozen Greek Orthodox nuns on Monday, ending their three-month captivity in exchange for Syrian authorities ...EU: No guarantee on nuclear deal
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton says there is "no guarantee" that nuclear negotiations between Iran and the West will lead ...Suicide car bomb, attacks kill at least 42 in Iraq
Police in southern Iraq say a suicide bomber killed at least 42 people and wounded 157 others when he detonated an explosive-filled ...Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain withdraw envoys from Qatar
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates say they have recalled their ambassadors from Qatar because of a failure to implement ...Hezbollah vows retaliation against Israel for airstrike against site in Lebanon
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah says Israel carried out an airstrike Monday on its positions near the Syrian border, and vowed to ...Egypt sentences 26 to death over Suez plot
An Egyptian court has sentenced 26 people to death for plotting attacks on ships passing through the Suez Canal.