In March 2022, France, Germany and Luxembourg seized assets worth 120 million euros ($130 million) in a move linked to a French probe into Riad Salameh's wealth. This year, European investigators have questioned Salameh in Beirut, also hearing from a Lebanese minister, Salameh's brother Raja, and central bank audit firms.

"I... take this opportunity to welcome the Syrian Arab Republic to the League of Arab States," Saudi finance minister Mohammed al-Jadaan told the meeting, which was broadcast live by state TV channel Al Ekhbariya. Jadaan added that he was "looking forward to working with everyone to achieve what we aspire...

In a visit to various European capitals to hold consultations with his allies, Zelensky dined with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace on Sunday night and held discussions that included building up Ukraine's arsenal. The leaders reviewed the military situation and the need for an ad hoc tribunal...

Appearing before a large crowd of supporters, Erdogan proclaimed himself to be ready to lead the nation for another five years. The results nearly complete from Turkey's most important election showed him falling just short of the 50-percent threshold needed to win. He claimed to have won a clear majority...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The Gulf Cooperation Council has hailed Qatar's efforts for its role in the ceasefire between Israel and Palestinians that came into effect on Sunday. Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary General of the GCC, said the Qatari diplomacy has been successful in dealing deal with several international and...

TEHRAN, IRAN - Iranian authorities have arrested eight people for "leading" a workers' strike at a key gas site in the south of the country, local media reported on Sunday. "Eight main leaders of the workers' strike in the South Pars projects have been arrested by the intelligence services," Akbar Pourat,...

A total of $280 million will be provided to Cameroon, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as innovative financing under the SmartEd initiative for education to support effective and sustainable programs that will see more boys and girls in these countries into school and learning.

TEHRAN, IRAN- Iran has summoned Iraq's ambassador to protest over the presence of Iranian opposition groups at an official ceremony in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, media reported on Sunday. Quoting the foreign ministry, ISNA news agency said that during Saturday's meeting Tehran expressed its "strong objection" to the invitation of members...

The president has never faced a more united opposition than the one led by retired civil servant Kemal Kilicdaroglu and his disparate alliance of six parties. But Erdogan has excelled at splitting his rivals and forging unlikely unions while winning one national election after another for 21 years.

The Egypt-brokered ceasefire began in and around the Gaza Strip on Saturday after five days of violence that has killed at least 34 Palestinians. But just before it came into effect, many rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel, prompting renewed air strikes. Taking advantage of the ceasefire, hundreds came...

Widespread public anger at the state's slow response to the tragedy leads many believe that Hatay's electors will vote differently.

Israeli air strikes battered Gaza and militants fired rockets again as deadly fighting resumed after a night of relative calm, despite efforts to secure a truce. A new ceasefire proposal was circulated by Egypt, which has been mediating between the two sides, after a previous bid fell through, a Palestinian...

The Kurdish regional government had for years earned billions of dollars in revenues exporting crude oil to Turkey without the Iraqi federal government's approval. But the exports were suspended in late March when international arbitrators ruled in favor of the Iraqi federal government's right to control oil exports going through...

The United States said it was sending reinforcements to the Gulf after what it called increasing harassment by Iran of ships in the oil-rich waters. "The Department of Defense will be making a series of moves to bolster our defensive posture" in the Gulf, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby...

Iran released two French citizens jailed in separate cases, France said, urging Tehran to release several others still detained in the Islamic republic. Bernard Phelan, who also holds Irish nationality and Benjamin Briere were freed from their prison in Mashhad city and are "on their way to France", Foreign Minister...

Dubai, UAE -- UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has discussed the longstanding strategic partnership between the UAE and France with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. They also explored opportunities to further expand bilateral cooperation across various sectors, WAM reported. Macon affirmed the commitment to further strengthening...

The foreign ministers of Egypt, France, Germany and Jordan called for an end to the violence between Israel and Gaza militants, who have been trading heavy fire for three days. The four ministers said later in a joint statement that they were "deeply alarmed" by the escalation.

"Everybody is serious. Serious means everybody is looking for peace," Mohammed al-Jaber said in his first extensive comments after meeting with Houthi leaders in Sanaa last month. But he added: "It's not easy to be clear about next steps."

Vienna, Austria - Austria said on Wednesday it will ban TikTok on federal employees' work phones, joining a growing list of Western nations cracking down on the Chinese-owned social media platform due to security concerns. The decision followed advice from Austria's intelligence services and several ministry experts. Similar measures have recently...

The pan-Arab body had suspended Damascus in November 2011 over its crackdown on protests, which began earlier that year and spiraled into a war that has killed more than 500,000 people, displaced millions and battered the country's infrastructure and industry.

Tehran, Iran-- Oman is keen to improve the military and defense ties with Iran in order to ensure the security of the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman. This was stated by Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tarik in a meeting in Muscat on Tuesday with the visiting...

CUACOS, SPAIN -  UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said peace negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine were "not possible at this moment," in an interview published by Spanish daily El Pais on Tuesday. His statement came as the leaders of Russia and Ukraine called for victory during events commemorating the end...

Israel told the UN it was justified in carrying out strikes on Gaza, even as its overall human rights record met resounding criticism from several countries. Following the pre-dawn strikes that killed 13 people, including several children, an Israel Defense Forces representative said the attacks adhered to the law of...

The sides will "exchange views on the normalization of relations between Turkey and Syria, discuss humanitarian issues... and the voluntary, safe and dignified return of asylum seekers," the Turkish foreign ministry said.

Islamabad, Pakistan -- Since being ousted from office by a vote of no confidence last year, former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan has vowed he will captain the country a second time. But on Tuesday, the one-time international cricket star was arrested as he appeared at Islamabad High Court to face...

Heavy fighting in Sudan has displaced 700,000 people within the country since the middle of April, the United Nations said, adding the figure had doubled in a week. Sudan was thrown into chaos when fighting broke out on April 15 between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo,...

Thanks to the jump in the fund, the Agriculture Innovation Mission (AIM) for Climate, launched in 2021, now surpasses its US$10 billion target for the COP28 climate talks, to be held by the UAE in November. The changing climate is threatening food security as global warming increases the frequency of...

China said it had filed an official protest over breaches of international law and diplomatic norms, and accused Canada of "deliberately undermining relations". Relations between the two countries have soured since since the arrest of a top Huawei executive in 2018 in Canada and the detention of two Canadian nationals...

According to the health ministry of the Hamas-ruled Gaza, 12 people were killed, including women and children. Among the deceased were also three senior officials of Islamic Jihad whom the Israeli army had targeted in the attack. An AFP journalist in the area spotted the top of a building on...

"We continue to believe that we will not normalize our relations with the Assad regime and we don't support our allies and partners doing so either," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said. The US opposes reconciliation with Syria and domestic law forbids any assistance for reconstruction without accountability for abuses...

the EU delegation to Israel said it would still celebrate Europe Day on Tuesday but regretted that "this year we have decided to cancel the diplomatic reception, as we do not want to offer a platform to someone whose views contradict the values the European Union stands for."

A majority of the people who voted in a TRENDS poll see the China-brokered deal between the two countries as a positive development.

In March, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi visited Tehran after his agency's inspectors in the country found uranium particles enriched to just under weapons-grade level.

BEIRUT, LEBANON -  An air strike killed a major drug smuggler and his family in southern Syria on Monday, a war monitor said, attributing the strike to Jordan though Amman did not immediately confirm. Drug dealer "Marai al-Ramthan, his wife and six children were killed in a Jordanian air force strike"...

The summit in the city of Xi'an is the first of its kind, according to Chinese state media, and will focus on strengthening economic and diplomatic ties with Beijing. China, the world's second-largest energy consumer, has invested billions of dollars to tap natural gas reserves in Central Asia.

The participants are reported to have discussed the broad contours of the massive joint project to build railway, maritime and road connectivity in the larger region.

Russian troops have battled since last summer to capture Bakhmut, the political importance of which has come to surpass any strategic value. As the counteroffensive looms, Moscow has ordered families with children and elderly members to temporarily evacuate a slew of Russian-held areas in southern Ukraine.

AMMAN, JORDAN -  The ninth session of the Joint Jordanian-American Committee, which was held in the United States, discussed cooperation in trade, agriculture, food security and labor.Secretary General of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply Dana Zoubi chaired Jordan's delegation and Deputy Representative of US Trade Jayme White represented...

Jabbet Al-Dhib , Palestinian Territories -- Israeli forces on Sunday demolished a Palestinian primary school in the occupied West Bank, citing safety issues and drawing sharp criticism from the European Union which had funded the project. Palestinians hurled rocks at Israeli forces who fired tear gas at them as bulldozers moved...

Multiple truce deals have been declared and quickly violated since battles erupted between army and paramilitary forces on April 15 in the poverty-stricken country with a history of political instability. Fierce combat since then has killed hundreds of people, most of them civilians, wounded thousands and sparked multiple warnings of...

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his "heart aches" for Koreans who suffered under colonialism, as Seoul and Tokyo seek a rapid reset of long-strained ties in the face of North Korean threats. Kishida was in Seoul on the first official bilateral visit by a Japanese leader to South Korea...

An Iraqi court sentenced to death a former policeman convicted of killing prominent academic Hisham al-Hashemi, whose murder in 2020 sparked condemnation in the country and abroad. The sentence against Ahmed Hamdawi Oueid for killing Hashemi, an expert on Sunni extremism and a government security adviser, was handed down by...

The bloc's foreign ministers unanimously agree to allow government delegations from Syria to resume their participation in meetings ahead of a key summit in Jeddah on May 19.

Israel transferred a Jordanian member of parliament to Amman's authorities, weeks after arresting him for attempting to smuggle pistols, rifles and gold into the occupied West Bank, officials said. Imad Adwan was detained at the Israel-administered Allenby (King Hussein) crossing between Jordan and the West Bank on April 22.

Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq's oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani has said the Iraqi government was keen to support the Lebanese people and consider their fuel needs. Abdul-Ghani received the Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water, Walid Fayyad, and his accompanying delegation. During the meeting, they discussed prospects for bilateral relations and...

Kuwait City, Kuwait -- Dozens of candidates have submitted their candidacy documents for Kuwait's National Assembly election, set to take place on June 6.  At least 31 Kuwaitis presented their documents to the election affairs department affiliated with the Ministry of Interior on Saturday, bringing the total number of candidates...

The 69-year-old has become one of Turkey's most important and divisive leaders since his Islamic-rooted party ended half a century of secular rule and launched an era of social transformation. Turkey became a strategic player with a vibrant economy and a modern army of drones that shifted battlefields in wars...

Fanned by strong winds wildfires flared across Alberta in the Canadian province, forcing 25,000 people to flee their homes as the province declared a state of emergency on Saturday to protect the "safety, health and welfare of Albertans." Thousands more have been told by the authorities to be prepared to...

ABU DHABI, UAE  - The UAE has evacuated 176 people from seven countries, including media professionals, from Sudan on Saturday and brought them here by plane, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) said. The UAE continues the process of prioritizing the evacuation of the most vulnerable groups,...

Thousands of Israelis protested for an 18th straight week against the hard-right government's controversial judicial reforms, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shelving the overhaul more than a month ago. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the central city of Rehovot, waving Israeli flags and blocking a major road junction.