Tehran, Iran - Iranians voted in a presidential election on Friday marked by a lone reformist's bid to break through against a divided conservative field. Voting was extended three times and eventually ended at midnight (2030 GMT), with around 61 million Iranians eligible to cast ballots after the death of ultraconservative...

Polls in Iran opened on Friday for a presidential election following the death of ultraconservative president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash last month. Around 61 million Iranians are eligible to vote in the polls where reformist Masoud Pezeshkian, 69, hopes for a breakthrough win against a divided conservative camp....

The flare-up in the northern Gaza Strip's Shujaiya district, which witnesses and medics said caused numerous casualties, comes as fears grow of a wider regional conflagration involving Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah, a Hamas ally.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has started the study and design of Phase II of ITS Improvement and Expansion Project, WAM reported. This phase aims to cover 100 percent of the emirate's main roads and adopt the latest intelligent technologies and software, such as the Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems...

Aramco's 25% participation in Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 aims to expand its gas portfolio and meet the world's growing need for lower-carbon energy sources.

SOFIA, Bulgaria -- The United States announced Wednesday a reward of up to $5 million for information that could lead to the arrest of fugitive Bulgarian-born "cryptoqueen" Ruja Ignatova. The US ambassador to Bulgaria, Kenneth Merten, said Ignatova is wanted in the United States and Germany "for her participation in one...

World Bank’s latest Migration and Development Brief said the modest 0.7 percent growth rate reflects large variances in regional growth, but remittances remained a crucial source of external finance for developing countries in 2023, bolstering the current accounts of several countries grappling with food insecurity and debt issues.

Top Israeli officials have suggested they are open to a diplomatic resolution of the border tensions, though Gallant said Israel should be ready for "every possible scenario".

Iranians vote on Friday to elect a new president from six candidates, including a lone reformist who hopes he can challenge the dominance of conservatives in the Islamic republic. A presidential election had not been due until 2025 but was brought forward after ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter...

Jerusalem, Undefined - Israel's top court ruled unanimously on Tuesday that the state must draft ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into military service, potentially destabilizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition. The High Court of Justice's decision on the politically charged issue comes as calls grow for ultra-Orthodox men, historically exempt from mandatory...

Assange had been detained in the high-security Belmarsh prison in London since April 2019. He was arrested after spending seven years in Ecuador's London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faced accusations of sexual assault that were eventually dropped.

Netanyahu said Israel would be able to "redeploy some forces to the north" on the border with Lebanon, where exchanges of fire with the Hezbollah movement have escalated, but said this would be "primarily for defensive purposes".

Dubai, UAE -- Dubai on Monday announced an $8 billion plan for a stormwater runoff system, two months after an unprecedented deluge and widespread flooding brought the desert state to a standstill. The rainwater drainage network announced by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum on social media platform X is set...

Covestro's shares surged more than six percent in Frankfurt following the announcement, which comes after it first disclosed talks were ongoing with the UAE firm in September last year. "The discussions so far have shown that Covestro and ADNOC can generally reach a common understanding regarding core aspects of a...

The company to integrate Meta's generative AI into its products.

Lebanon's transport minister denied on Sunday that Hezbollah was storing weapons at Beirut airport, as fears grow of all-out war between the militant group and Israel. Ali Hamieh called a press conference to deny the allegations of "absurd articles" in the media, and attacked the British daily The Telegraph. The...

Toronto, Canada -- For a few days, AI chip juggernaut Nvidia sat on the throne as the world's biggest company, but behind the its staggering success are questions on whether new entrants can stake a claim to the artificial intelligence bonanza. Nvidia, which makes the processors that are the only option...

Jenin, Palestinian Territories -- Israeli troops tied a wounded Palestinian to a military vehicle during a raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, the army said Sunday, admitting that soldiers had violated operational procedures. Footage of the incident, which occurred on Saturday, has gone viral and shows a man...

Cairo, Egypt - Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly ordered 16 tourism companies stripped of their licences and referred their managers to the public prosecutor Saturday over illegal pilgrimages to Mecca, the cabinet said. The order came after countries whose citizens performed this year's hajj reported more than 1,100 deaths, many attributed...

Gaza civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Basal told AFP that at least 20 were killed in a strike on a house in Al-Tuffah neighborhood, while a strike in Al-Shati refugee camp claimed the lives of four others. Against a grey backdrop of destruction, men used a donkey cart to remove...

Hammoud sidesteps the question of whether he could ultimately endorse Biden under the right circumstances, emphasizing that whatever he might say, it's too late for some of his constituents who have lost dozens of relatives to Israeli bombs.

Geneva, Switzerland -A Swiss court handed jail sentences to four members of Britain's richest family on Friday, branding them "selfish" for exploiting Indian staff at their Geneva mansion. The Hindujas were acquitted of human trafficking, but convicted on other charges in a stunning verdict for the family, whose fortune is estimated...

Palestinian Territories -- Israel bombed Gaza on Friday as exchanges of fire and threats over the Lebanon border raised fears of a wider war. Five municipal workers died "during an Israeli bombing" of a garage in Gaza City, said Mahmud Basal, spokesman for the civil defense agency in the territory. In...

"The state did not fail, but there was a misjudgment on the part of people who did not appreciate the risks," the official told AFP in the government's first comments on the deaths. An AFP tally on Friday, compiling official statements and reports from diplomats involved in the response, put...

Hospitality industry revenue in Qatar is expected to witness the highest growth rate in GCC until 2028, Alpen Capital has said in a report. Qatar’s hospitality sector is projected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11% (from $0.9bn in 2023 to $1.5bn in 2028). The growth...

Geneva, Switzerland -- Global foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 2 percent to $1.3 trillion in 2023 amid an economic slowdown and rising geopolitical tensions, according to the latest World Investment Report released by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD). But the report highlights that the decline exceeds 10 percent when...

The new deaths reported Thursday included 58 from Egypt, according to an Arab diplomat who provided a breakdown showing that of 658 Egyptians who died, 630 were unregistered pilgrims. Around 10 countries have reported 1,081 deaths during the pilgrimage.

A punishing heat dome continues to intensify over the northeastern United States, scores of record-high temperatures were matched or broken Wednesday, including in Boston, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Caribou, near Maine’s northern tip. This long-lasting heat wave will continue to scorch the Midwest, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic into the weekend, reported the...

Hassan Nasrallah - whose powerful Iran-backed group has exchanged near-daily fire with Israel since its ally Hamas's October 7 attack - also threatened the nearby island nation of Cyprus if it opened its airports or bases to Israel "to target Lebanon".

Abha, Saudi Arabia - Saudi taekwondo standout Donia Abu Taleb had an unusual introduction to the sport: for years she trained at a boys' club because there were no girls to compete with. Now the 27-year-old has become the first Saudi woman to qualify for the Olympics and is dreaming of...

Palestinian Territories - The Israeli army on Tuesday said plans for an offensive in Lebanon were "approved and validated" amid escalating cross-border clashes with Hizbollah and a relative lull in Gaza fighting. The war in Gaza has heightened tensions across the region, with Israeli forces and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hizbollah, a...

"All of them (the Egyptians) died because of heat" except for one who sustained fatal injuries during a minor crowd crush, one of the diplomats said, adding the total figure came from the hospital morgue in the Al-Muaisem neighbourhood of Mecca.

Witnesses reported gunfire and artillery shelling near Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, where the civil defence agency said at least 13 people died in two separate strikes on a family home and on a commercial building. Al-Awda hospital in central Gaza said it received the bodies of "six martyrs...

Tunis, Tunisia - In the old medina of Tunis, a wall installation titled "1001 Bricks" showcases the talents of "invisible" creators, including art students, people with disabilities and school dropouts. Led by Swiss artist Anne Francey, the project took shape over a year through workshops that culminated in a large bas-relief...

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said on Sunday that Saudi officials had committed "to provide everything that will serve those who visit the Two Holy Mosques and help them perform their worship in security and reassurance". The health ministry said it would "closely follow cases of heat exhaustion."

The military said the soldiers were killed when the Namer armored vehicle they were travelling in exploded near Gaza's far-southern city of Rafah, where troops are engaged in fierce street battles. There was no immediate word on what triggered the blast.

Canon Middle East and DBWC launch the 'Women Who Empower' campaign, offering training and opportunities for women in imaging and print industries, celebrated with a gallery exhibition.

Two cruise missiles launched by Yemen's Huthi rebels struck a bulk cargo carrier in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday, severely injuring a sailor who was evacuated by American forces, the US military said. The Huthis have been targeting vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November...

On Monday, the UN Security Council adopted a US-drafted resolution supporting the plan, and on Thursday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said G7 leaders "call on Hamas in particular to give the necessary consent". Some Gazans have also called on Hamas to do more to secure an agreement

New York, United States - Boeing said Thursday it is examining fasteners on some undelivered 787 jets after discovering problems with their installation in the latest manufacturing shortcoming to face the company. The aviation giant, which faces intensified scrutiny from regulators following recent incidents and manufacturing difficulties, said planes already in...

Beirut, Lebanon -- Hezbollah said it fired a new wave of rockets and drones at the Israeli army on Thursday, after an Israeli strike killed one of its senior commanders. It was Hezbollah's largest simultaneous attack in near-daily cross-border fire between it and the Israeli army since its ally Hamas's October...

"More than 10 people were injured, mainly men from the Arbil civil defense," said the Iraqi civil defense in a statement.

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) and Qatar Central Bank (QCB) have decided to keep interest rates unchanged, following the US Federal Reserve’s decision on Wednesday to keep benchmark lending rate at its current level for the seventh time in a row, Zawya reports. The US Federal Reserve voted...

The Houthis, who are at war with a Saudi-led coalition after ousting the government from Sanaa in 2014, have launched scores of drone and missile attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November. They have said they are harassing the vital trade route in support...

Kuwait City, Kuwait -- A fire killed 49 people in Kuwait when it ripped through a building housing nearly 200 foreign workers on Wednesday, the government said. The blaze, which broke out in the six-story building south of Kuwait City at around dawn, also left dozens of people injured, the health...

Paris, France -- The world is likely to have a "major surplus" of oil by 2030 as production is ramped up while the clean energy transition tempers demand, the International Energy Agency said in an annual report published Wednesday. Global demand is expected to "level off" at 106 million barrels per...

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heading on Wednesday to talks in key mediator Qatar after Hamas gave a reply to a US-led proposal for a ceasefire in war-ravaged Gaza. Blinken, on a four-country swing around the Middle East to push Hamas to accept the truce proposal, will meet...

In recent years the downstream industry, which includes refineries that process crude oil into gasoline, has increasingly relied on so-called digital twins -- computer-modeled replicas of actual facilities. They allow companies to run simulations to assess operational issues in real-life facilities, mitigate potential hazards and do predictive maintenance (PdM).

Istanbul, Turkey - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the opposition CHP party headquarters on Tuesday, the first time in 18 years, after his party's dramatic defeat in the March local elections. Erdogan last visited the party in 2006 when he was prime minister. The one-and-a-half-hour meeting between Erdogan and CHP...

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold talks with key Israeli opposition figures on Tuesday, a day after he arrived in the country to push a ceasefire plan for the war in Gaza. His visit is part of a drive by the United States to secure a ceasefire in...