Belgium's parliament on Wednesday approved a controversial prisoner-swap treaty with Iran in the first reading of a text that still has to be submitted to a full vote to be ratified.

The US has during latest indirect negotiations accused Iran of raising issues "wholly unrelated" to the nuclear deal.

Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region Wednesday deplored "unjust pressure" from the federal government's oil ministry, days after the judiciary nullified oil contracts between the Kurds and foreign oil firms. After the oil ministry filed a judicial complaint, a commercial court in the Iraqi capital on Monday invalidated contracts between the Kurdish...

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic downturn since it gained independence from Britain in 1948.

Twitter is challenging the Indian government's orders to block content on its social media site in court, local media reported Wednesday citing legal documents. The suit is the latest showdown between Twitter and Indian authorities, which have been accused of muzzling criticism both on and offline. In the case filed...

Israel's health ministry approved Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccinations for its youngest children, an official said Tuesday, mirroring a move by the US to allow mRNA shots for those over six months old.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met publicly for the first time in over five years, on the sidelines of Algerian independence anniversary celebrations.

Twenty-two Malian migrants died in a boat disaster off the Libyan coast, the UN said Tuesday, citing survivors who reported victims drowning and dehydrating with three children reportedly among the dead.  After nine days at sea, 61 survivors, mostly from Mali, were rescued by the Libyan coastguard and brought back...

Iran and its influence in the Middle East took center stage on Tuesday in talks between Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid with French President Emmanuel Macron during Lapid's first trip abroad in office.

Tunisia's President Kais Saied on Tuesday defended a proposed constitution set for referendum this month, after the drafting committee's chief disavowed a document he said could return the country to dictatorship.

Morocco called Tuesday for a return to regional roundtable talks on a peace deal over the Western Sahara, a format rejected by neighbouring Algeria which says it masks the nature of the conflict. Morocco's top diplomat Nasser Bourita made the comments in a statement after a meeting with United Nations...

A Tunisian court on Tuesday froze the bank accounts of several key opponents to President Kais Saied, including Rached Ghannouchi, head of the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party. The Tunisian Financial Analysis Committee issued a statement informing banks they must "immediately implement the ruling from the investigating judge of the anti-terrorism pole".

Libya's Tripoli-based Presidential Council on Tuesday announced a plan to extract the country from its latest political crisis and hold elections. "In response to the legitimate demands of the Libyan people and their desire for change, the Presidential Council... agreed on a ge neral framework for a working plan to...

Jordan's industrial goods have a great opportunity to gain a foothold in the Algerian market, president of the Jordan and Amman Chambers of Industry, Fathi Al-Jaghbir said

Building work in Qatar's capital Doha, host of the 2022 World Cup, will be completed "well before the tournament", the event's CEO promised qualifying teams on Monday.

Gas consumption will contract slightly this year due to high prices and Russian cuts to Europe, with only slow growth over coming years as consumers switch to alternatives, the IEA said Tuesday.

The decision was taken "to make room for political and revolutionary forces and other national factions" to form a civilian government

The trial of 36 migrants accused of "illegally entering" Morocco started Monday but was immediately halted, lawyers said, days after a mass attempt to cross into a Spanish enclave.

The United Nations envoy for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, was on a visit to Morocco on Monday but has cancelled a planned trip to the disputed territory itself, the UN said. Staffan de Mistura was "in Rabat to meet with Moroccan officials", spokesman Stephane Dujarric told journalists in New...

The North African country won its independence following a gruelling eight-year war, which ended with the signing in March 1962 of the Evian Accords.

The comprehensive economic partnership agreements (CEPA) signed by the UAE with India, Israel and Indonesia this year will help the Gulf country's national economy grow by 2.6 percent by 2030.

Palestinians reject the findings. A senior Palestinian Authority official said "we will not allow attempts to conceal the truth or to have shy references in pointing the finger of accusation (at) Israel".

Libyans angered by rising prices, chronic power cuts and political deadlock planned further demonstrations Monday after a night of angry protests across the capital. Masked youths set alight car tires and blocked roads including a major coastal highway between central Tripoli and its western suburbs, but security forces did not...

The UNDP confirmed the implementation of 3,800 projects in five liberated Iraqi governorates and said that it is helping five million internally displaced persons return to their areas.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has criticized President Joe Biden for calling on oil companies to lower sky-high gasoline prices, prompting the White House to come to the US leader's defense on Sunday.

Another sandstorm has darkened Iraqi skies and it's hard to breathe, but Baghdad motorcycle delivery rider Milad Mitti doesn't have the luxury of missing a day's work. Like most people in the now blistering hot desert country, the 30-year-old battles on in frustration, wearing goggles and a grey neck warmer...

White-robed worshippers from across the world have packed the streets of Mecca as Islam's holiest city prepares to host the biggest hajj pilgrimage since the coronavirus pandemic.

The Tunisian jurist who oversaw the drafting of a new constitution submitted to President Kais Saied said Sunday it has been changed into a charter that could lead to a dictatorship

Hundreds of port workers staged a strike in Jordan on Sunday as the prime minister announced the sacking of several officials accused of "negligence" over a deadly gas leak. A tank of chlorine gas fell as it was being loaded by crane onto a ship in Jordan's Red Sea port...

Foreign ministers of Arab nations discussed in Beirut a range of regional crises, with emphasis on food security and the impact of Ukraine war on their countries.

Some articles of the draft constitution published last Thursday in the official journal could "pave the way for a dictatorial regime", warned Sadeq Belaid, who headed the committee.

Sada Social Center, a Ramallah-based social media monitoring group, said Facebook ranks first in suppressing Palestinian content, as 273 violations were documented on the social media giant, followed by WhatsApp.

Airlines cancelled several hundred US flights Saturday at the start of a long and almost certainly messy holiday travel weekend as carriers struggled to staff their planes.

Thousands of Afghan clerics pledged loyalty to the Taliban Saturday but ended a three-day meeting without recommendations on how the hardline Islamist group should govern the crisis-hit country.

Libya's rival leaders were under growing street pressure Saturday after protesters stormed parliament as anger exploded over deteriorating living conditions and political deadlock.

Iran's foreign minister warned Saturday on a visit to Damascus that Turkish military action in Syria would destabilize the region, after Ankara threatened to launch a new offensive on Kurds in the country's north.

The Palestinian Authority handed the bullet that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to US forensic experts on Saturday as it seeks to prove conclusively that it was fired by an Israel soldier.

The UAE has sent three planes carrying a 1,000 sqm field hospital, which includes 75 beds and two operating rooms equipped with the latest medical supplies and devices, to offer relief to earthquake victims in Afghanistan.

The International Monetary Fund is sending a team to Tunisia next week to begin formal talks on a new financial aid package, an IMF official said Friday.

Turkey on Friday substantially raised the minimum wage for the second time in a year to cushion the blow from soaring cost of living increases ahead of next year's general election.

Oceans produce half the oxygen we breathe, regulate the weather and provide humanity's single largest source of protein.

At least five people were killed and 19 injured when a strong earthquake shook southern Iran early Saturday, the state news agency IRNA reported.

Protesters stormed Libya's parliament building in the eastern city of Tobruk on Friday, demonstrating against deteriorating living conditions and political deadlock, Libyan media reported. Several television channels said that protesters had managed to penetrate the building and committed acts of vandalism, while media outlets showed images of thick columns of...

Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to UAE President, discussed developing ties across various domains with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus. In a meeting held in Dubai, the two reviewed issues of common concerns and means to enhance cooperation to promote progress, prosperity and development of both countries....

Lebanon is grappling with an unprecedented financial crisis, branded by the World Bank as one of the planet's worst since the 1850s.

Syrian phosphates used for fertiliser are being exported to Europe in bulk, benefitting a Russian firm and the sanctions-hit Damascus regime, a report said Thursday. Italy, Bulgaria, Spain and Poland are among the EU states receiving Syrian phosphates, according to the report by a consortium of investigative journalists led by...

Are China and Russia taking over the US power in the Gulf Cooperation Council region? Khaled Janahi, chairman of Vision 3, tends to disagree. “I would question the question because there are a lot of people thinking that already China and Russia are taking over. There is difference between relationship...

The talks aim to bring the United States back into a 2015 deal jettisoned by the Donald Trump administration in 2018.

The coalition government came apart last week after some Arab lawmakers refused to renew a measure that ensures the roughly 475,000 Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank live under Israeli law.

Jordan's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has called for concrete and effective steps to address the effects of the Ukrainian crisis on food security, energy prices and supply chains