October 21, 2016 Vatican-Muslim dialogue to restart in April, Vatican says The Vatican and the prestigious Sunni Muslim center of learning, Al-Azhar, are expected to formally reopen talks next year after a five-year lull.
October 21, 2016 In the West Bank, Samaritans provide a sanctuary In one of the tensest corners of the West Bank, Israeli settlers and Palestinians live in separate worlds.
October 21, 2016 Iraqi special forces join Mosul offensive against IS Iraqi special forces joined the Mosul offensive on Thursday with a pre-dawn advance on a nearby town held by the Islamic State group, encountering heavy fire.
October 21, 2016 Egypt's fight against Islamic militancy makes enemies Egypt has made fighting Islamic militants its overriding foreign policy objective, a decision that has brought it closer to Syrian President Bashar Assad, Russia and Iran, in turn antagonizing its chief financial backer, Saudi Arabia.
October 20, 2016 American missionary believed to be kidnapped by drug trafficking African jihadis Jeffery Woodke, 55, the U.S. missionary who was kidnapped by armed men from his home in Niger, West Africa, on Friday after they killed his two guards, is now believed to be in the hands of a drug-trafficking jihadist group called The Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO).
October 20, 2016 The Latest: IS attacks Iraqi special forces with car bombs The Latest on the campaign to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State group (all times local): 10 a.m.
October 20, 2016 Newly banned Shiite group in Nigeria appeals in court A Shiite group in northern Nigeria is appealing in court a ban imposed by local authorities that observers warn could spark sustained violence.
October 20, 2016 Lebanon's ex-PM Hariri backs Hezbollah's ally for president Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who heads the largest bloc in parliament, has formally endorsed a leading Christian politician and strong ally of the Hezbollah group to become the next president.
October 20, 2016 Chinese officials contest Dalai Lama's Milan visit The Chinese Embassy in Rome is contesting the Milan city council's plans to bestow honorary citizenship on the Dalai Lama.
October 20, 2016 Iraqi-Turkish split points to distrust among Mosul forces Just days into the operation to retake the Islamic State-held city of Mosul, a fault-line has widened between Iraq and Turkey, and the distrust among the various forces arrayed against the extremists has again bubbled to the surface.
