Russia's foreign minister on Thursday said he was "skeptical" about a U.N. report accusing the Syrian regime of committing crimes against humanity during the siege of Eastern Ghouta.

Syrian regime forces have advanced against the Islamic State group after a wave of jihadist attacks in a central desert region, a monitor and state media said.

A force led by Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar said Thursday it had recaptured two key oil ports, a week after they were seized by a rival militia in a blow to crucial exports.

A Palestinian shot by Israeli forces last month during protests on the Gaza border has died of his wounds, the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory said late on Wednesday. 

Iraq's supreme court on Thursday ordered a manual recount of last month's legislative elections that resulted in a surprise victory for a populist Shiite cleric.

The court found that the decision by parliament to order a manual recount in response to allegations of electoral fraud did not violate the constitution, its president Medhat al-Mahmud told a news conference.

Iraq's supreme court on Thursday ordered a manual recount of last month's legislative elections that resulted in a surprise victory for a populist Shiite cleric.

The court found that the decision by parliament to order a manual recount in response to allegations of electoral fraud did not violate the constitution, its president Medhat al-Mahmud told a news conference.

Iraq's biggest tribe has appealed for weapons to defend itself against the Islamic State jihadist group after several of its members were abducted and killed in a central desert region.

Emitari-backed Yemeni government forces seized Hodeida airport from Huthi rebels on Wednesday, the coalition said, in a major step towards retaking the key Red Sea port city.

The external hard drive had been smuggled from Syrian regime territory through jihadist-held towns and into Turkey. When Ghazwan Koronful finally got his hands on it, he sighed in relief.

Israeli warplanes pounded Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip early Wednesday in a new flare-up of hostilities that saw dozens of rockets and mortar shells fired from the Palestinian enclave, the army said.