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northern Syrian city of Aazaz

a military and a political council running daily life.

taken by the rebels following five months of fierce fighting with forces of President Bashar al-Assad.

To a certain extent, the nature of the transition will be i

nfluenced by how the Assad regime leaves the scene.

forces retain their cohesion

The Turkish Army sent armored troops deep into Syria late Saturday on a rescue mission, to recover the remains of a major historical figure and to evacuate the guards at his besieged tomb

The tomb of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, is 20 miles south of the Turkish border, but it has been considered Turkish territory under a 1921 treaty with France

there were no clashes during the mission and only one casualty, a soldier who was killed in an accident

The contest between the shalemen and the sheikhs has tipped the world from a shortage of oil to a surplus.

Big importing countries such as the euro area, India, Japan and Turkey are enjoying especially big windfalls. Since this money is likely to be spent rather than stashed in a sovereign-wealth fund, global GDP should rise.

There will, of course, be losers (see article). Oil-producing countries whose budgets depend on high prices are in particular trouble. The rouble tumbled this week as Russia’s prospects darkened further. Nigeria has been forced to raise interest rates and devalue the naira. Venezuela looks ever closer to defaulting on its debt

Al-Qaida has an Internet presence nearly two decades old

their separate techniques not only reveal key divisions between the two terrorist groups, but also illustrate the depths of extremism that ISIS will plumb—and that al-Qaida won't.

Social media's public and instantaneous nature is ideal for reaching ISIS's target audience—young, disillusioned Westerners who are ripe for radicalization—and it gives them a sense of community.

(Reuters) - The Syrian government and some opposition figures will start a second round of talks in Moscow on Monday focusing on humanitarian issues, although a broader agreement is unlikely as Syria's main opposition group continues to boycott the talks.

do not expect any big breakthrough towards ending a conflict

January's unproductive first round of consultations in Moscow was shunned by the main political opposition group, the Western-backed Syrian National Coalition

As Saudi-led airstrikes pound Yemen rebels, UN and Red Cross alarmed over civilian casualties

The U.N. human rights office in Geneva said that in the past five days, at least 93 civilians have been killed and 364 wounded in five Yemeni cities engulfed in the violence, including, Sanaa. The overall figures are likely much higher and it was not immediately clear if the casualties cited by Geneva referred to just airstrikes or the strikes and fighting between Yemen's warring factions. The Saudi-led coalition says rebels have set up positions near civilians but that it is doing its best to avoid civilian casualties

His departure removed a potential obstacle to unity talks organized by the United Nations to try to end the fighting that has divided the country.

His deputy, Khalifa Ghweil, will take over as interim prime minister

The other faction, based in the eastern cities of Tobruk and Bayda, includes the internationally recognized Parliament

In Pakistan, public education has become a battleground. Members of Fatma’s local school council are outraged, saying the elite only care about themselves and keep the poor illiterate to stay in power.

Across town, another kind of school is functioning quite well. It has plenty of room and even provides free tuition and a hot meal. It is one of the country’s many madrassas, or religious schools, which are becoming an increasingly popular option for poor parents.

the Ministry of Education’s curriculum wing, the staff has been working on removing the militaristic tone of the curriculum. But the textbooks still include passages like these: “For the past three centuries the Europeans have been working to subjugate the countries of the Muslim world” and “The Christians and Europeans were not happy to see the Muslims flourishing in life. They were always looking for opportunities to take possession of territories under the Muslims.”

95.4 percent of the population in Egypt aged between six and 18 years old is enrolled in school.

“the quality of education remains a major challenge that hinders the capacity of children to develop to their full potential.”

Public Schoo

More than in any other country, Iraq's future is intimately bound up with the fate of self-styled Islamic State (IS).

Territory that was lost in a day or two is taking many months to claw painfully back.

But even if initially successful, such an ambitious project, indeed, any further moves to oust IS, could go badly wrong if the foundations are not sound

Education is now one of the deadliest pursuits for children and teachers inside Syria, as the country's schools are increasingly being damaged and destroyed in the conflict.

chools are being increasingly forced to close because of the conflict

Syria has now descended to the second worst rate of school attendance in the world with 2.8 million children out of schoo