Captivated by the idea of fighting jihadists, or dedicated to starting a "revolution," foreigners have diverse reasons for joining the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria.

The group is the key component of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces alliance, now advancing on the Islamic State group's stronghold of Raqa. 

Rightwing presidential candidate Francois Fillon appears to have won his battle to stay in France's election, but his fake job scandal will have a lasting impact on the vote and beyond.

Germany's large Turkish community, including 1.4 million people eligible to vote in Turkey, is a potential electoral goldmine for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his bid to win a referendum on expanding his powers.

Alain Juppe, who may get a new shot at the French presidency thanks to a fake jobs scandal engulfing fellow conservative Francois Fillon, has a gift for re-inventing himself.

President Donald Trump's administration was plunged back into turmoil over its connections to Russia after it was revealed that his attorney general failed to disclose he met Moscow's ambassador twice during last year's election campaign.

Following the revelation Jeff Sessions recused himself from any probe into the election on Thursday.

A major battle to liberate the Islamic State group's stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria is looming, with U.S. officials looking to build on momentum from victories on the battlefields of Mosul in Iraq. The Pentagon has drawn up a secret plan to do that, likely leaning on local allies with stepped-up American support.

The question is: who are those local allies in the tangled mess that is Syria's conflict?

For 17 years in the hot green jungles of Colombia, a gun has been Emiro Suarez's constant companion.

It has made him feel safe. Now, like thousands of other FARC rebel fighters, he must learn to live without the reassuring feel of it in his hand.

Worried over Turkish advances in Syria's north, the Damascus regime has formed an alliance of convenience with the country's Kurds to prevent their common enemy from gaining ground.

Since the start of Syria's war in 2011, several diplomatic initiatives have stumbled over the future of President Bashar al-Assad. Here is a recap:

- End of Arab solutions - In January 2012, two months after an initial bid to end the violence, leading Arab diplomats adopt a fresh plan that would transfer power from Assad to a coalition cabinet. The Damascus government rejects the proposal and vows to crush rebel movements.

U.S. President Donald Trump broke with decades of international consensus this week when he said a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may not be the only answer.