Frankfurt, Germany -- Escalating attempts to remove works featuring themes such as LGBTQ lifestyles and race relations from US bookshelves are facing growing resistance from publishers and rights groups, a major topic at this year's Frankfurt Book Fair. Spearheaded by right-wing conservative groups, there has been an explosion in efforts...

Washington, United States - US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a ban on visas for foreign students who are set to begin attending Harvard University, ramping up his administration's crackdown on higher education. "I have determined that it is necessary to restrict the entry of foreign nationals who seek...

The announcement comes after Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun met with his UAE counterpart Mohamed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, after which it was announced that the ban would be lifted.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- The United Arab Emirates will lift a ban on its citizens travelling to Lebanon that was imposed during a diplomatic row in 2021, according to a joint statement on Thursday. The decision was announced a day after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with his UAE...

It must find non-Chinese owner to avoid ban.

Beijing, China--China on Thursday slammed the approval of a US bill that would ban TikTok unless it severs ties with its Chinese parent company, vowing that Beijing would "take all necessary measures" to protect the interests of its companies overseas. The short-video app has soared in popularity worldwide but its ownership...

The company contends that the ITC finding was in error.

A US import ban on certain Apple smartwatch models came into effect, after the Biden administration opted not to veto a ruling on patent infringements. The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) decided in October to ban Apple Watch models over a patented technology for detecting blood-oxygen levels.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - The Russian government has extended the ban on the entry of trucks from the European Union, the UK, Norway and Ukraine to the country. “The restriction will remain in effect until the circumstances that served as the basis for its introduction are eliminated,” the Cabinet noted on...

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in a statement said that ships bound for Israel will also be barred from loading cargo at any port in the largely Muslim Southeast Asian nation with immediate effect. He particularly targeted Israel's biggest shipping firm ZIM. Malaysia's cabinet authorised ZIM to dock its vessels at...

Developed in 2003 by the Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik, concerns are growing over the risk of teens becoming hooked on nicotine through candy-colored disposable vapes.

Dubai, UAE - The much-anticipated Hindi-language action film Tiger 3, starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, has reportedly been banned in Gulf states Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar. Released on the occasion of Diwali, the film has marked its entry into the record books as the highest-grossing Diwali day release. While...

Geneva, Switzerland--Israel's total siege of the Gaza Strip, depriving civilians of goods essential for survival, is banned under international law, the United Nations human rights chief said on Tuesday. Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said people's dignity and lives had to be respected as he called for...

Beijing, China--China on Wednesday denied there was any ban on officials purchasing or using foreign phones, including iPhones, after reports said Beijing was prohibiting civil servants from using Apple handsets. "China has not issued any laws, regulations, and policy documents prohibiting the purchase and use of foreign brand smartphones, including iPhone,"...

The for-hire electric scooters that have become ubiquitous in Paris and other cities worldwide will be banned in the French capital on Sept 1.

Around 2.3 million Palestinians live in the territory, which has been under a crippling Israeli blockade.

Baghdad, Iraq--Iraq has restored access to the popular messaging app, Telegram, on Sunday after a week-long ban. The ban, which took effect on August 6, was enforced after concerns arose regarding breaches of national security. The government cited the leaking of state-owned private documents and the protection of citizens' personal...

BEIRUT, LEBANON - Lebanon's culture minister said on Wednesday he had asked authorities to ban hit movie "Barbie" for purportedly "promoting homosexuality", as anti-LGBTQ rhetoric soars in one of the Middle East's more liberal countries. "It was decided... to send a request to Lebanon's General Security agency... to take all necessary...

London, United Kingdom--Over 100 British lawmakers on Monday expressed concern at the lack of progress in the case of a jailed British-Egyptian activist and urged the UK government to adopt "fresh approaches" to secure his release. Alaa Abdel Fattah -- a key figure in the 2011 revolt that topped Egyptian autocrat...

Abu Dhabi, UAE-- Abu Dhabi has succeeded in curbing the use of plastic bags by around 95 percent since the banning of the single-use bags in June 2022. The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) claims it has prevented over 172 million bags from entering the environment. In 2020, EAD...

Manama, Bahrain - Bahrain has taken steps to ban from its markets the contaminated cough syrups made in India in response to recent reports of the death of many children who consumed them in some countries.   The National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) on Sunday confirmed that the Kingdom's markets are...

Under investigation both at home and abroad on suspicion of fraud, money laundering and illicit enrichment, Riad Salameh has been summoned for a hearing in Paris next month. He is part of a political class widely blamed for the country's economic crisis that the World Bank says is of a...

In spite of divisions over the legislation, Iraq's customs department has given orders to begin enforcing a ban on alcohol imports that became law last month. The specialist retail stores dominating alcohol sales in absence of bars or licensed restaurants however remained open for business, at least in Baghdad.

Office of Management and Budget director Shalanda Young in a memorandum called on government agencies within 30 days to "remove and disallow installations" of the application on agency-owned or operated IT devices, and to "prohibit internet traffic" from such devices to the app.

Defying a government ban against marches, scores of Moroccan trade union activists protested on Sunday in the capital Rabat and other cities to denounce surging costs of food and fuel. Protestors from the Democratic Labour Confederation (CDT) organized rallies outside their offices in Rabat and Casablanca as well as other...

Speaking at the AFC Congress in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia's Sports Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal said he didn't see a problem with Russia shifting allegiances to Asia.

Baghdad, Iraq--Iraq saw the Gulf Cup as a chance to rehabilitate its image after a years-long football hosting ban, but a deadly stampede and organizing gaffes have dampened the cheer despite its home victory. Thursday's stampede outside a football stadium ahead of the cup final in the southern city of Basra...

Basra, Iraq--Iraq on Friday welcomed football teams from across the region for the Gulf Cup, ending nearly three decades of repeated bans on international matches in the war-torn and corruption-plagued country. The tournament in the southern city of Basra brings together eight teams, with Friday's opening match seeing the host...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia---Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo still needs to serve a two-match English Football Association ban before making his Al Nassr debut, an official at the Saudi club told AFP on Friday. Ronaldo was slapped with the ban in November for hitting a mobile phone out of a teenage fan's hand...

the Moroccan foreign ministry said in a statement that authorities in the North African country "decided to forbid access to territory of the Kingdom of Morocco for all travelers, whatever their nationality, coming from the People's Republic of China."

New York, US--Russia on Tuesday banned oil sales to countries and companies that comply with a price cap agreed by Western nations, briefly helping to lift crude prices. "The supply of Russian oil and oil products to foreign legal entities and individuals is prohibited if the contracts for these supplies...

"A meeting of Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) is scheduled later today to consult and discuss how to tackle this issue," Tapiwa Gomo, public information officer for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told AFP.

The European Union reached an agreement to ban the import of products including coffee, cocoa and soy in cases where they are deemed to contribute to deforestation. The draft law, which aims to ensure "deforestation-free supply chains" for the 27-nation EU, was hailed by environmental groups as "groundbreaking". Illegal production...

Iran vowed an "immediate" response to the European Union as it prepares new sanctions on the Islamic republic after over a month of protests sparked by Mahsa Amini's death. EU foreign ministers met to adopt sanctions on Iran after Amini was detained for allegedly breaching Iran's strict dress code for...

Mahraganat, often known as "electro-shaabi", or popular electro, relies heavily on computer-generated and synthesised beats, and has a wide reach. Some purists in socially conservative Egypt -- a cultural powerhouse in the Arab world -- view its blunt lyrics tackling topics including love, power and money as overstepping moral boundaries.

The EU's executive proposed a new round of sanctions on Moscow over its latest "escalation" in Ukraine, including an oil price cap and ban on Russian exports worth $7 billion. It also plans to expand its travel blacklist and asset freezes to include high-ranking Russian officials and organizers of the...

Encouraged by Ukraine to ban all Russian tourists from visiting Europe, EU foreign ministers will study the idea in a two-day meeting beginning Tuesday in Prague. Although many have resisted the suggestion fearing it would prevent Russian dissidents from getting out, many have wholeheartedly agreed with it.

United States is seeking to crack down on Russians seeking to skirt existing sanctions by "covertly" acquiring US, Japanese and European defence components.

A Tunisian court has imposed a travel ban on the speaker of the country's now-dissolved parliament, a court spokeswoman said.

India said it has capped sugar exports to safeguard its own supplies and ease inflation, days after a ban on wheat shipments sent global prices soaring in the wake of the Ukraine war.

The embargo on Russian oil, which is part of a sixth package of EU sanctions under discussion, is being resisted by some member states that rely on Russian oil to keep their economies running and are seeking guarantees of alternative sources.

The Taliban on Saturday imposed one of the harshest restrictions on Afghanistan's women since seizing power, ordering them to wear the all-covering burqa in public. The militants took back control of the country in August last year, promising a softer rule than their last stint in power between 1996 and...

The groups urged advertisers to require that Twitter maintain its content moderation policies as a non-negotiable term of doing business with the platform.

Indonesia began imposing a complete ban on palm oil exports Thursday, as the world's largest producer of the commodity risked destabilising a global vegetable oil market already hitting peak prices. The archipelago nation is facing a domestic shortage of cooking oil as well as soaring prices.

Hours before the flight, the airline said on its Facebook page that "it has not yet received operating permits," and expressed "deep regret to the travelers for not being allowed to operate."

More than a dozen Chinese coal power projects overseas were cancelled after a ban last year on funding such plants, but loopholes could allow 18 others to still go ahead, according to a study published Friday.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Wednesday barred far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben Gvir from entering Muslim areas of Jerusalem's Old City and holding a rally, in a bid to stem further violence. The ban is intended to prevent further violence in the Old City, including in the Al-Aqsa mosque.

Saudi Arabia has declared a ban on the import of trucks older than five years in order to raise the efficiency and competitiveness of the kingdom's transport sector.

Australia announced more sanctions against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine Sunday, immediately banning all exports of alumina and bauxite while pledging more weapons and humanitarian assistance. The export ban aims to impact aluminum production in Russia, which relies on Australia for 20 percent of its alumina. It comes just...

Paytm shares nosedived 13 percent Monday after Indian regulators banned the beleaguered payments platform from enrolling new customers and reports its founder was arrested for crashing into a police car.