The quadrennial tournament is being held in the Holy Land for the first time ever, and teams say their initial fears about taking part have proved unfounded

Death occurs during demonstration outside office of a paramilitary group in Basra

Norway, Britain and Italy will have 40 F-35s by the end of 2018, with the first U.S. jets in 2021; Israel is already operating several of the game-changing jets

Absurdly, the fate of over a million Syrian refugees in Lebanon depends on coalition talks in Beirut; in the meantime, Hezbollah must carefully maneuver among political rivals to ensure its existence

The Israeli army struck Hamas targets in Gaza after the soldier was killed. Three rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza; two of them were intercepted by the Iron Dome. Another rocket fell in an open area in southern Israel

The death of an Israeli soldier was grim reminder that the Gaza conflict does not start and end with incendiary kites and balloons

Backed by a Russian air campaign, Assad army has been pushing into the edges of Quneitra province following an offensive last month that routed rebels in adjoining Deraa province

The kite fliers find satisfaction in the very development of a cheap tool that bewilders the strong Israeli army. But more Palestinians ask whether their creativity is worth a deterioration that will cause the death of thousands of Gazans