A Syrian warplane crashed north of Damascus on Wednesday, but it was unclear if it had been shot down or came down because of a technical fault, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

Iraq's military closed in on Wednesday on the centre of Shirqat, a northern town held by Islamic State seen as a stepping stone in the campaign to recapture the jihadists' stronghold of Mosul.

Turkish police shot a suspect in the leg outside the Israel embassy in Ankara after an attempted stabbing attack, broadcaster CNN Turk said.

An air raid carried out overnight by Syrian or Russian warplanes killed four medical workers and at least nine rebel fighters near Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said on Wednesday.

Surveillance aircraft circled in the sky during the hours before a United Nations aid convoy was struck by warplanes on Monday, killing relief workers and destroying 18 trucks of humanitarian supplies, several witnesses said yesterday.

US President Barack Obama insisted diplomacy is the only way to end the brutal five-year conflict in Syria on Tuesday, as a ceasefire brokered by Washington and Moscow lay in tatters.

Surveillance aircraft circled in the sky during the hours before a United Nations aid convoy was struck by warplanes on Monday, killing relief workers and destroying 18 trucks ...

Saudi Aramco said on Tuesday it had put out a minor fire at its Ras Tanura oil terminal where eight individuals were injured, including two Aramco employees.

A Turkish court has remanded in custody a man who kicked a young woman in the face because she was wearing shorts, after his initial release sparked a furore among activists, reports said Tuesday.

An Emirati woman has sought leave to have a sex change operation in what would be a first for the United Arab Emirates, newspapers reported on Tuesday.

Aid convoys for four Syrian towns will be postponed as staff reassess security after a deadly attack on relief trucks and intensified violence, a senior official from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday.

Aircraft of the Saudi-led coalition hit the UNESCO-listed Old City of Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa on Tuesday after the rebels fired a missile at Saudi Arabia overnight.