Assad is on his first official trip to China in almost two decades as he seeks financial support to rebuild his devastated country, as well as rehabilitation for his regime from years of isolation over Syria's civil war. He will attend the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games in...

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto ruler of Sudan since a 2021 coup, alluded to the rival Rapid Support Forces' ties with Wagner, the Russian mercenary group hit by Western sanctions over alleged abuses in Africa. "The danger of this war is now a threat to regional and international...

Speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau called on the Indian government to "work with us" in order to establish processes to uncover the truth of the matter. Trudeau, however, refused to provide the evidence that led him to accuse India...

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in New York that he will visit Israel too once Benjamin Netanyahu will have visited Turkey. Erdogan, after meeting with Netanyahu, added that drilling work with Israel will be started soon and operating transmission lines to Turkey and further to Europe will also...

New York, US-- Kuwait has exhorted UN member states to back its bid for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council for 2024-2026. The appeal was made at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly by the country's Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Highlighting Kuwait's...

Beirut, Lebanon - A gunman fired more than a dozen bullets at the US embassy in Beirut, Lebanese officials said on Thursday, with the diplomatic mission reporting no casualties in the late evening incident. "At 10:37 pm local time (1937 GMT), small arms fire was reported in the vicinity of the...

"An estimated 43,059 individuals have been displaced by the floods in northeastern Libya," the IOM said, adding that a "lack of water supply is reportedly driving many displaced out of Derna" to other areas.

"Just as we stand together against military aggression, so must we strive together to protect the world from our most existential challenge of all -- that of global warming, climate change and the catastrophic destruction of nature," said the king, known for campaigning on environmental issues for the past decades.

Armored cars, missiles and thousands of uniformed fighters filed past Houthi dignitaries in a show of strength from the Iran-backed group, as a military jet buzzed overhead. The parade took place two days after a Houthi delegation left Riyadh following "positive" but inconclusive talks aimed at ending a war that has ravaged...

Ukrainian officials said the Palau-flagged Resilient Africa vessel was carrying 3,000 tons of wheat when it left Ukraine's Chornomorsk port on Tuesday. It was destined for Israel, according to marine traffic websites, representing the first successful Black Sea voyage since Russia pulled out of a UN-backed deal to export Ukrainian...

RAS AL KHAIMAH, UAE - A delegation from Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ), led by Group CEO Ramy Jallad, successfully wrapped up its roadshow in China’s Guangdong province to explore new opportunities for economic and trade cooperation. The delegation aims to foster deeper ties with local enterprises, prominent trade...

China becomes one of only a handful of countries outside the Middle East that Assad has visited since the 2011 start of a civil war that has since killed more than half a million people, displaced millions more, and battered Syria's infrastructure and industry. Assad also becomes the latest in...

New York, United States -- At a meeting on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the importance of Iraq respecting the sovereignty of Kuwait. The ministers underscored the...

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has demanded India treat with "utmost seriousness" allegations that Indian agents played a role in the June murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The fallout prompted tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions and a forceful denial from India, which said any suggestion it played a role in Nijjar's killing...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM- Mahsa Amini, the Iranian Kurdish woman who died in custody a year ago, and billionaire Elon Musk were among a field of nominations put forward on Wednesday for the EU's top rights prize. The European Parliament's three biggest political groups each backed Amini as the recipient for this year's Sakharov...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - The European Commission is proposing to renew the use of the controversial and widely used herbicide glyphosate in the EU for 10 years in a text published on Wednesday, after a report saw no reason to block it. The European Union's 27 member states will discuss the proposal...

Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthi rebels put a positive spin on the inconclusive talks in Riyadh as diplomatic efforts increased to end Yemen's war. The five days of talks were "positive", Saudi officials and a senior Houthi said, after the rebel delegation ended the first public visit to the Saudi...

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – The cooperation between Moscow and Tehran is reaching new highs, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Wednesday. “We are determined to implement the entire set of our planned activities despite opposition from the US and its Western allies,” Shoigu said during talks with Iranian Defense Minister...

YINCHUAN, CHINA - In the run-up to the sixth China-Arab States Expo, guests from countries and regions along the Belt and Road expressed their expectations for further cooperation with Beijing. On Tuesday, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region opened its third international friendship-cities forum in Yinchuan, the regional capital. Among...

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in New York with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said "ties between the two countries were improving". After more than a decade of tensions, relations have improved with recent high-level visits, including that of Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Ankara last year.

In recent days, violence has also risen in the Gaza Strip, with Palestinians in the coastal enclave holding protests along the Israeli border fence that have turned violent. The violence in Gaza follows an Israeli announcement late on Sunday that it would keep the Erez border crossing closed. The crossing...

Sweden has seen a series of burnings of the Islamic holy book, with the government voicing condemnation but saying it cannot stop acts protected under laws on free expression. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- who has put pressure for months on Sweden over its welcome to Kurdish activists Turkey...

The Riyadh trip, five months after the rebels hosted a Saudi team in Sanaa, is the latest hopeful sign for a war that has created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. The Houthis also met with Saudi defense minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, brother of de facto ruler Crown...

Ronaldo played a key role in Nassr's opener just after the hour, the Portuguese instigating the move that led to Abdulrahman Ghareeb’s blocked shot cannoning off Persepolis full-back Esmaeilifar and nestling in the net. Ten minutes later, Nassr left-back Mohammed Qassem broke down the left and thumped his shot high past Beiranvand...

Media reports said that Canada worked closely with the US government and CIA before Prime Minister Justine Trudeau made public the allegation that Indian agents may have been involved in the murder of a Sikh leader in Canada.

"Today India has awakened with a new consciousness," Modi said in the central hall of the old parliament building before leading fellow legislators by foot across to the new complex. Modi's Hindu-nationalist government called a special session of parliament to match the relocation, which coincides with the beginning of a...

Turkish military action has principally targeted the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) and its Syrian Kurdish ally, the People's Defence Units (YPG). A Turkish drone strike on Sunday killed a senior PKK official and three fighters in the Sinjar Mountains of northwestern Iraq, Iraqi Kurdish authorities said.

During their conversation, Netanyahu said I hope you find within the confines of the First Amendment, the ability to stop not only anti-Semitism, or rolling it back as best you can, but any collective hatred of people that anti-Semitism represents. Musk said while his website couldn't stop all hate speech...

The diplomatic spat has grown fierce in the hours since Canada blamed India for being behind the killing of a Sikh leader last June and expelled its intelligence chief from the country. New Delhi has followed suit, expelling a senior Canadian diplomat. In the meantime, the UK and Australia have...

NEW YORK, US- President Joe Biden said the United States would keep piling "costs" on Iran despite a prisoner swap deal that freed five Americans on Monday. Biden confirmed that he was imposing new sanctions on Iran's intelligence ministry and former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for their involvement in "wrongful detentions." "Today,...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said that national airlines in the Kingdom have issued compensations totaling US$15 million (SAR58 million) to passengers in the period 2021-2022. These compensations, according to GACA, were given primarily to deal with issues such as delays, loss of luggage,...

Beirut, Lebanon - A Syrian Kurdish armed group attacked an area controlled by pro-Turkish fighters in rebel-held northern Syria on Monday, killing at least 14, a war monitor and a factional leader said. The Kurdish Afrin Liberation Forces took advantage of factional fighting that broke out after midnight on the outskirts...

Meloni, who won the election last year on a vow to stop immigration, said Sunday the defense ministry would also be charged with setting up more repatriation centers "as soon as possible". The government allocated 42.5 million euros ($45.3 million) at the end of 2022 for new repatriation centers, and the...

ABU DHABI, UAE – Director-General of the Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing (EO AMLCTF) Hamid AlZaabi said that in H1 2023, there has been a significant improvement across the board on the issue of AML/CFT in the country. In a statement to the Emirates News Agency...

The five, who include a businessman and a conservationist, and who left Iran on a Qatari plane accompanied by two relatives, were freed in exchange for five Iranians held by the United States. The trigger for the exchange was the release of the $6 billion in funds, long frozen by...

UN agencies warned that Libya's flood-stricken city of Derna, where thousands were killed a week ago, faces the threat of disease outbreaks that could bring "a second devastating crisis". Traumatized residents badly need clean water, food and basic supplies amid a growing risk of cholera, diarrhea, dehydration and malnutrition, UN...

Benjamin Netanyahu announced his meeting with Elon Musk through a post and told that they will discuss artificial intelligence. The tech billionaire launched his own artificial intelligence company, xAI, in July as he seeks to compete with ChatGPT's creator OpenAI.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - Turkish divers searched on Sunday for the bodies of three firefighters who died when their helicopter crashed into a water reservoir near the western resort city of Izmir. The helicopter went down while picking up water to douse a forest fire on Saturday night. The team included three...

The coalition's potential presidential candidate, Hisham Kassem, was Saturday sentenced to six months in jail. The presidential election, expected to be held next year, has already been fraught with accusations of repression.

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - The head of the World Health Organization told the Financial Times he was ready to send a new mission of experts to China to investigate the origins of Covid-19.   "We're pressing China to give full access, and we are asking countries to raise it during their bilateral...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – The Kingdom’s Governor of the Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) Dr. Mohammed Saud Al-Tamimi participated in the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development annual meeting in New York. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The...

AMMAN, JORDAN -The Kingdom’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has emphasized the significance of current and upcoming electrical interconnection initiatives to enhance the system and advance the energy sector. This move will ultimately help position Jordan as a hub for regional energy exchange in all its forms. According to...

A million people have crossed Sudan's borders since April, fleeing the devastating war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, according to the United Nations. That figure would probably be higher, were it not for the fact that many like Omar needed passports renewed or issued from...

News site G1 said the plane was an 18-passenger EMB-110, a twin-engine turboprop manufactured by Brazilian aircraft-maker Embraer. It was reportedly on its way from the state capital, Manaus, to Barcelos, about a 90-minute flight.

According to a United Nations report released on Sunday, the toll from Derna alone has risen to 11,300. Citing the Libyan Red Crescent, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs added that another 10,100 people were still missing in the devastated city.

Iran's foreign ministry said that the move to withdraw accreditation from several of the UN's nuclear watchdog inspectors was in retaliation for "political abuses" by the United States, France, Germany and Britain. But IAEA director general Rafael Grossi said that this would seriously hamper the ability of the IAEA to...

The US state of California sued five of the world's largest oil companies, alleging the firms caused billions of dollars in damages and misled the public by minimizing the risks from fossil fuels, according to a court filing. The case was filed in superior court in San Francisco against ExxonMobil,...

Istanbul, Turkey - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday accused the European Union of pulling away from Turkey, whose efforts to join the bloc have stalled amid criticism of Ankara's efforts to address democracy and rule of law concerns. Erdogan secured a pledge from Brussels to resurrect the membership talks first...

Sanaa, Yemen - Flooding and lightning strikes in Yemen have killed eight civilians, an official and a doctor told AFP on Saturday, underscoring the threat of extreme weather in the war-ravaged country. The lightning strikes occurred on Friday in the Al-Layha and Al-Zahra districts of Hodeida governorate on the Red Sea...

SHARJAH, UAE - The Sharjah Social Security Fund (SSSF) has allowed the possibility of acquiring the service period for insured employees in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations. This aligns with the law's objectives and the fund's strategies aimed at enhancing the well-being of employees and providing them with...