Iran is concerned that an uptick in violations of Syria’s ceasefire could harm planned peace talks this week aimed at ending the five-year-old civil war, a deputy foreign minister was quoted as saying on Tuesday. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the comments, cited in state news agency IRNA, after speaking to United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura, who arrived in Tehran after …

Belgium has charged two more men with terrorist offences over alleged links to the rental of a property thought to have been used as a safe house before the Brussels attacks, federal prosecutors said on Tuesday. They identified the two men charged on Monday as Smail F., born in 1984, and Ibrahim F., born in 1988 and did not say …

As U.S.-led offensives drive back Islamic State in Iraq, concern is growing among U.S. and U.N. officials that efforts to stabilize liberated areas are lagging, creating conditions that could help the militants endure as an underground network. One major worry: not enough money is being committed to rebuild the devastated provincial capital of Ramadi and other towns, let alone Islamic …

NASA scientists are scrambling to save the planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft after it slipped into a state of emergency. The ageing spacecraft – which has detected almost 5,000 planets – is around 75 million miles away from Earth. Scientists discovered that it had entered emergency mode at some point last week. The last time they made normal contact with it was …

Belfast’s growing craft beer scene puts the spotlight on small, local breweries and enthusiastic staff. We pick 10 pubs and bars where you can get a modern taste of the city Bootleggers This “dude food” diner – elaborate burger menu; skulls and shipping pallets stuck on the walls; confrontational slogans scrawled in the gents – doubles as a rather good …

A poll of almost 900 teachers found that 80% of them had thought of qutting Alamy More than four in five teachers have considered leaving the profession because of pressure of work, according to a new survey out today. The poll of almost 900 teachers by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers revealed 83 per cent were considering quitting – …

Travelling out of season to sunny southern Spain can make for a superb short break, as our writer discovers when he explores Andalucía’s hill towns Plus: off-season breaks to Corsica, Portugal and Italy Rock on … the dramatic Andalucían hill town of Setenil de las Bodegas. Photograph: Alan Copson/Corbis The roads were calm and uncluttered, minutes passed before another vehicle …

For a small country like Britain, the idea of claiming one of the longest footpaths in the world sounds a little ambitious. But that’s what we’re up to with the creation of the England Coast Path, and the proposed completion date of 2020 is not too far away. The route will go all the way round the English coast, and …

Syrian troops found a mass grave containing around 40 bodies in Palmyra city, captured from Islamic State last Sunday, Syrian state news agency SANA said on Friday. SANA said the grave, which contained many women and children, was in the north-eastern edge of Palmyra. Some of the bodies had been beheaded. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights which monitors the …

An academy in Knowsley, Merseyside, is under fire after it announced plans to close its sixth form, which will bring to an end A-level provision in the borough. Halewood academy was the last school offering A-levels in the area but is now consulting on plans to close its sixth form to new students from September as a result of financial …