Armed faction enters major Libyan oil ports, putting output at risk
BENGHAZI, Libya An armed faction entered two major Libyan oil ports on Friday, pushing back forces that captured and reopened the terminals in September, officials and residents said.
Mosul victims treated for chemical agents as displacement accelerates
BAGHDAD/ERBIL, Iraq The number of civilians escaping the fighting in Mosul has increased significantly as battles intensify between U.S.-backed Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants, and some have been exposed to chemical agents, the Red Cross said on Friday. | Video
U.S. wages second day of strikes on al Qaeda in Yemen
WASHINGTON/ADEN, Yemen The United States carried out a second day of air strikes against al Qaeda in Yemen on Friday, U.S. officials said, in the latest sign of increasing U.S. military focus on a group whose strength has grown during Yemen's civil war. | Video
U.N. Syria envoy says talks have set agenda for progress on peace
GENEVA Syria's first U.N.-led peace talks in almost a year ended on Friday without breakthrough but the United Nations mediator said the warring parties now had a clear agenda to pursue a political solution to the country's six-year-long conflict.
Welcome to the wall: artist Banksy opens Bethlehem hotel
BETHLEHEM, West Bank Under an army watchtower and across the street from the concrete wall Israel has built in parts of the occupied West Bank, street artist Banksy has opened a guesthouse in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem. | Video
Egyptian police kill four in shootout in Cairo outskirts
CAIRO Egypt's interior ministry said on Friday its forces killed four people it said were fugitive terrorists plotting to carry out hostile operations.
Red Cross says seven treated for exposure to toxic agents near Mosul
BAGHDAD Five children and two women are receiving treatment for exposure to chemical agents near the Iraqi city of Mosul, where Islamic State is fighting U.S.-backed Iraqi forces, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Friday.
Walls, drones and mines: Turkey tightens border as Syria incursion deepens
HOYUK MILITARY OUTPOST, Turkey Turkey is steadily sealing its frontier with Syria, long infiltrated in both directions by fighters and smugglers, with fences, minefields, ditches and a wall that will snake even through the most mountainous regions.
Less damage to ancient Palmyra than feared, Syrian antiquities chief says
DAMASCUS Damage to the World Heritage site of Palymra by Islamic State militants may be less than earlier believed, Syria's antiquities chief said on Friday.
Rival Kurdish factions clash in northwestern Iraq
ERBIL, Iraq Rival Kurdish groups clashed in Iraq's northwestern Sinjar region on Friday, two Kurdish security sources said.