AFP, JERUSALEM:  Anti-Christian graffiti has been sprayed on a wall of a Jerusalem abbey built where tradition says the mother of Jesus died, police said Sunday, in an incident similar to previous acts blamed on Jewish extremists. The graffiti written in Hebrew on an outside wall of the Dormition…

AFP, WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Michigan on Saturday, freeing up federal aid to help an area affected by contaminated…

AFP, JAKARTA: The death toll in the Jakarta extremist attack has risen to eight, including four civilian victims and four militants, after a wounded Indonesian bystander died overnight, police said Sunday. Police had earlier put the toll of victims from Thursday’s assault at two, but raised it…

AFP, JALALABAD: At least 14 people were killed when a suicide bomber struck the home of a prominent politician in Jalalabad Sunday, officials said, in the second deadly attack in the eastern Afghan city in less than a week. The Taliban denied responsibility for the bombing, which also left 13 people…

AFP, ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will lead a high-level delegation to Saudi Arabia and Iran this week to try to ease tension between the Muslim countries, a minister said Sunday. Information minister Pervez Rashid told AFP Sharif would travel to Riyadh on Monday and Tehran on Tuesday…

AFP, OUAGADOUGOU: At least 29 people, including at least 11 foreigners, were killed in an Al-Qaeda attack on a top hotel in Burkina Faso, an unprecedented strike in the capital illustrating the expanding reach of regional jihadists. The hours-long drama saw Burkinabe troops, backed by French special…

AFP from Beirut: Jihadists from the Islamic State group have abducted more than 400 Syrian civilians after capturing new ground in a major assault on the city of Deir Ezzor that left dozens dead. The shock attack comes despite a Russian air campaign targeting the group that began in September, and more…