BEIRUT/ANKARA Russian and Syrian jets hammered a major rebel stronghold on Tuesday, a war monitor said, days before leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey meet to discuss an expected Syrian government offensive that could spark a humanitarian disaster. The warplanes bombarded countryside around Jisr al-Shughour on the western edge of …

BASRA (IRAQ) Six protesters were killed and 16 more were injured during a second day of clashes with security forces in Iraq’s main southern city Basra, local health and security sources said. Twenty-two members of the security forces were also wounded, some by a hand grenade, the sources said, in …

JERUSALEM Israel has carried out more than 200 attacks against Iranian targets in Syria in the last two years, a senior Israeli official said on Tuesday, in a rare summary of its campaign. According to regional sources, Israel began carrying out military strikes in Syria in 2013 against suspected arms …

DUABI Iran is making efforts to remove militants from Idlib in Syria with the least human cost, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday. Iran supports President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s civil war. Idlib, in northwest Syria, is the last major enclave held by rebels. “The situation in Idlib …

GENEVA The husband of detained Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was himself arrested on Tuesday, Amnesty International said. There was no immediate comment from Iranian authorities, and Reuters was not able to contact the judiciary. Sotoudeh’s husband, Reza Khandan – who has campaigned for her release – said on …

VENICE (ITALY) Amos Gitai’s “Letter to A Friend in Gaza” offers unflinching criticism of Israel’s blockade of Gaza and its lethal response to Palestinian protesters, in which the filmmaker asks fellow Israelis to examine their conscience. In the non-fiction short, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival this week, Israeli …

WASHINGTON US President Donald Trump on Monday warned Syria against launching an attack on the country’s last rebel stronghold with the help of Russia and Iran, saying the offensive could trigger a “human tragedy.” The warning came as Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javed Zarif met with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad …

YANGON (MYANMAR) The wife of one of two Reuters journalists jailed in Myanmar made an emotional appeal Tuesday to Aung San Suu Kyi to free her husband for the sake of their young daughter, as the leader comes under increasing criticism for her silence on the case. Wa Lone, 32, …

UNITED NATIONS U.S. President Donald Trump will chair a U.N. Security Council meeting on Iran this month to spotlight its “violations of international law” during the annual gathering of world leaders in New York, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said on Tuesday. The United States, which holds the council presidency for …

MADRID Spain said Tuesday it has cancelled a 2015 deal to sell 400 laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia, which is leading a coalition fighting rebels in Yemen. A defence ministry spokesman confirmed a Cadena Ser radio report that said Spain’s new Socialist government planned to return the 9.2 million euros …