WASHINGTON / Reuters US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis will travel to Jordan, Turkey and Ukraine later this month, the Pentagon said. Mattis will begin his trip in Jordan where he will meet with King Abdullah. Jordan is a member of the US-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq. The visit will be Mattis’ first to Jordan as defense ...

BEIRUT / Reuters An advisor to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said the six-year war is nearly over as foreign states cut backing for rebels, and vowed the government would confront any “illegitimate” forces, whether Turkish or American. Bouthaina Shaaban said the fact that Syria was staging the Damascus International Fair for the first time in the war “sends a ...

TUNIS / Reuters Tunisia’s prime minister accepted the resignation of interim finance minister Fadhel Abdelkefi over a conflict of interest in a judicial case, but said he had asked him to stay on until a replacement is found. Abdelkefi is a key member of Prime Minister Youssef Chahed’s government, which is under pressure to carry out contentious economic reforms demanded ...