The Pentagon has begun surveillance flights over militant-controlled parts of Syria, US officials say. The United States has begun surveillance flights over militant-controlled parts of Syria after US President Barack Obama’s authorization, according to American officials. One unnamed official said on Tuesday that the reconnaissance flights had started, while two other officials said earlier that... 

A long-term truce in Gaza has been agreed with Israel, Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas said. The ceasefire announced by Egypt came into effect at 16:00 GMT with almost immediate reports of warning sirens going off in southern Israel. “We have responded to the Egyptian proposal for a complete and comprehensive cease-fire, which starts at 19:00 Cairo time,” Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas,... 

US President Barack Obama speaks on the phone with King Abdullah II of Jordan in the Oval Office of the White House on August 8, 2014 in Washington, DC after US jets struck ISIL positions in northern Iraq. The Obama administration is reportedly preparing to begin air strikes on Syrian territory without the consent of the Syrian government. The pretext is the rapidly expanding US war on ISIL, but in... 

The guided-missile destroyer USS Ross A US Navy destroyer and a French frigate are expected to enter the waters of the Black Sea next week, a diplomatic and military source said. “Two NATO warships at once will arrive in the Black Sea on September 3. They are US Navy’s destroyer USS Ross and frigate, Commandant Birot, of the naval forces of France,” the unnamed source told RIA-Novosti news agency. There’s... 

Russia intends to send a second humanitarian aid convoy to eastern Ukraine in the near future, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says. “We want to reach an agreement on all conditions for delivering a second convoy by the same route… in the coming days,” Lavrov said at a news conference on Monday. He added that Moscow sent an official note to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry... 

China’s Inner Mongolia is hosting the biggest military drill ever held by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The training of 7,000 servicemen from five SCO member states is set to test troops’ effectiveness in fighting terrorism. The Peace Mission-2014 drill, being conducted from August 24 to 29 in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, was declared open by Deputy Chief of Chinese... 

At least five people have been killed in an attack against a church in Ukraine’s eastern town of Kirovske as fierce fighting continues between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian forces. The artillery attack against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church claimed five lives on Saturday, the church said on Sunday. Three of the dead were attending a religious service when the shell blasted through the roof of... 

Having closed several McDonald’s restaurants in Moscow, Russia’s Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection (Rospotrebnadzor) launched unscheduled inspections of the restaurants of the chain in the Sverdlovsk region of Russia. According to representative of the agency, their actions are connected to complaints from local residents about the quality of products sold and insanitary conditions. On... 

A political analyst says the tightening of sanctions by the United States and the European Union (EU) against Russia is “counterproductive,” Press TV reports. In an interview with Press TV, Jan Oberg said the US-EU move to impose sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian tension is “self-defeating” as it harms the economy of the West as well. “I think it is utterly counter-productive and... 

Investigations into the activity of McDonald’s restaurants are underway across Russia. Three restaurants including the first one to open in Russia were temporarily closed in Moscow over sanitary issues. Checks in Moscow are currently being conducted in five McDonald’s restaurants. The Moscow department of Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian consumer watchdog, said that during the checks breaches of sanitary... 

US Defense Secretary said on Thursday that Islamic State militants could possibly pose an even bigger threat to the United States than Al-Qaeda, and pledged efforts to weaken the group would continue. Speaking at a press conference at the Pentagon, Hagel also said that potential airstrikes in Syria are on the table, and defended the unsuccessful attempt by American Special Forces to rescue murdered... 

Russian aid convoy trucks have crossed back over the border after delivering humanitarian supplies to eastern Ukraine. Russian Deputy Emergency Minister Eduard Chizhikov said on Saturday that all the trucks that had departed for Ukraine have returned to Russia. “There were 227 trucks in the humanitarian operation participating in the operation, and they have all returned. All those vehicles have... 

The European Union has blamed Moscow for the “clear violation” of Ukraine’s border after a Russian aid convoy crossed into the Ukrainian territory. “We deplore Russia’s decision to enter the humanitarian consignment into Ukrainian territory, without the ICRC’s [International Committee of the Red Cross] escort or the consent of the Ukrainian authorities,” Sebastien Brabant, spokesman... 

Several dozen trucks in the Russian humanitarian convoy have crossed the Ukrainian border and started moving in the direction of Lugansk, after Moscow ordered the convoy to proceed, without waiting for further permission from Kiev. Moscow has accused Kiev of deliberately holding up the delivery of Russian humanitarian aid to the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine, according to a new statement... 

Ukrainian people sit inside a makeshift shelter in the town of Makiyivka on August 19, 2014. The UN refugee agency says over 400,000 people have fled their homes due to the fighting in eastern Ukraine. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Wednesday that some 190,000 Ukrainians have been displaced within the country and 225,883 others have fled to Russia, Poland and Belarus. It...