Law & Society

Islamic State militants have dug trenches around natural gas and hydrogen tanks at Iraq's largest refinery, raising the stakes in a battle where the price of victory may be the refinery itself.

A five-day humanitarian truce to allow fuel, medicine, food and aid workers to enter Yemen could be a "lifeline" for civilians trapped in conflict zones, aid agencies said on Wednesday.

Bahrain's King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa has skipped a Gulf Arab summit with U.S. President Barack Obama, but is expected to join Britain's Queen Elizabeth at a horse show near London, a show representative said.