Previous attacks have been blamed on Somali pirates but they have fallen in recent years as a result of international security operations. Pirate attacks fell to their lowest level in nearly three decades in 2021, according to the International Maritime Bureau watchdog.

The US Navy demanded the immediate release of the tanker, saying it was transiting international waters in the Gulf of Oman and slammed Iran's "continued harassment of vessels". It is one of a spate of incidents since 2018, when then US president Donald Trump pulled out of a nuke pact...

Iran's foreign minister called on Lebanon to overcome political deadlock and elect a president, urging foreign governments not to interfere in the choice. "We will support any election and agreement reached between all Lebanese sides... and we call on other foreign parties to respect the choice of the Lebanese," Hossein...

On Wednesday, after a harrowing overland journey and overnight boat trip across the Red Sea, Sudan evacuees who have fled to Saudi Arabia, grateful to have survived but wracked with guilt and worry for those the left behind. The fighting in Sudan pits forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah...

The 62-year-old Iranian director, whose films have won numerous international awards, was freed on bail in early February after nearly seven months in detention in Tehran. The lawyer said Panahi was travelling to France to visit his daughter.

The UAE-made Rashid Rover aboard the Hakuto Mission 1 Lunar lander was nearing its destination on the Moon when the team on the ground lost contact with the spacecraft. The lunar lander was expected to touch down at 8:40 PM UAE time, but ispace said it was unable to verify...

NEW YORK, US - UAE Minister of State Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar urged United Nations Security Council members to peacefully resolve conflicts by promoting dialogue and cooperation between states. Al Marar said at the UNSC,  "Our sustained commitment to effective multilateralism, grounded in international law and the principles of the...

Saudi Arabia regularly announces seizures of amphetamine pills without specifying whether they are captagon, used by wealthy Saudis as a party pill.

The country increased its military spending by 16 percent to reach an estimated $75 billion, surpassing the United Kingdom, Germany, and France.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu hosted four-way talks aimed at normalizing ties between Ankara and Damascus, which were severed at the start of Syria's civil war in 2011. "Practical steps were discussed in the field of strengthening security in the Syrian Arab Republic and normalizing Syrian-Turkish relations," the Russian defense...

The veteran Democrat would be 86 by the end of a second term. Even if a medical exam in February found him "fit" to execute the duties of the presidency, many including in his own voter base believe he is too old. An NBC News poll released over the weekend...

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND -  The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that fighters in conflict-ravaged Sudan had occupied the national public laboratory holding samples of diseases including polio and measles, creating an "extremely, extremely dangerous" situation. Fighters "kicked out all the technicians from the lab... which is completely under the control of...

Tehran, Iran— Claiming that Iran has received numerous “requests” from different countries for purchase of its defense equipment and cooperation, Brigadier General Afshin Khajeh Fard has hailed the achievements in producing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and manned drones with fixed and moving wings. The brigadier general, the head of the...

State media reported that police held people suspected of financing the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) or roping in new members to the group. The operation also involved suspects who transferred money to the PKK through from municipalities held by Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), report...

Like Jewish religious holidays, Israelis commemorate Memorial Day from sunset and into the following day, with several events planned at the country's 52 military cemeteries. The families of a number of the soldiers killed in combat have requested that cabinet members refrain from speaking at the events to avoid unrest.

Tehran, Iran— Iran has announced new sanctions against the UK and European Union “individuals and entities” for supporting what it terms as terrorist groups in the Islamic Republic. According to MEHR News Agency, sanctions have been imposed on 17 individuals and four entities for inciting and encouraging terrorist acts and...

India will overtake China as the world's most populous country in the coming week, hitting almost 1.43 billion people, the United Nations said. "By the end of this month, India's population is expected to reach 1,425,775,850 people, matching and then surpassing the population of mainland China," the UN Department of...

Australia launched its biggest defense overhaul in decades, vowing to turn a military that is "no longer fit for purpose" into a fighting force that could deter China or any would-be foe. Defense Minister Richard Marles unveiled a strategic review that called for using missiles, submarines and cyber tools to...

China insisted it respects the sovereignty of all ex-Soviet countries, after comments by its ambassador to France drew ire in Europe. Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, the European Union's three Baltic countries, summoned China's envoys to account for Ambassador Lu Shaye questioning the sovereignty of former Soviet states.

Tehran, Iran -- The West has intensified economic pressures on Iran in recent months and imposed nearly 800 sanctions on Iran since September last year alone, an Iranian expert has said. Mohsen Pakaeen, a foreign policy analyst, told the official Islamic Republic News Agency that US, Europe along with Canada...

Tehran, Iran-- Iraq's President Abdul Latif Rashid will make an official visit to Iran in the near future as the two countries seek to consolidate their relations amid the warming of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The visit of the Iraqi president to Iran was confirmed in a phone...

Jordan's foreign ministry said that Israel has arrested Imad Adwan, a member of parliament, suspected of smuggling weapons and gold into the occupied West Bank. The ministry said that Amman is following the case and that he has been arrested "for interrogation in a case concerning alleged smuggling of quantities...

Brussels, Belgium - Comments made by the Chinese ambassador to France questioning the sovereignty of post-Soviet countries were "unacceptable," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Sunday. Borrell added that he hoped the comments did not reflect Beijing's official stance. "Unacceptable remarks of the Chinese ambassador to France," Borrell tweeted. "The...

"We came to send a message to the whole world that with this normalization, you will gain Bashar al-Assad the criminal, and you will lose the Syrian people," said Abdel Salam Mohammed Yussef, who heads a camp for displaced people.

ALGIERS, ALGERIA -  Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune will visit France in June, his office said Sunday, weeks after a diplomatic spat over a French-Algerian activist. The visit had initially been due to take place in May, but was pushed back to June following a phone call between Tebboune and his French...

MIYAZAKI, JAPAN  -  With hunger levels rising and food prices soaring in most of the world, collective actions are necessary for immediate and long-term global food security objectives, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Sunday. Director-General of FAO Qu Dongyu made the remarks at the G7 Ministers of Agriculture...

LONDON, UK - The UK will conduct its first test of a new emergency alert service on Sunday, with millions of mobile phones set to emit a loud alarm and vibrate at 3:00pm (1400 GMT). The national system, modeled on similar schemes in Canada, Japan, the Netherlands and the United States,...

Charles and Camilla's grandchildren will take part in the ceremony, watched by more than 2,000 invited dignitaries -- a quarter of those in attendance in 1953.

Paris, France--EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on European navies to patrol the disputed Taiwan Strait, in a opinion piece in a French weekly published Sunday. Borrell's comments in the Journal Du Dimanche, echo comments he made last week when he stressed how crucial Taiwan is to Europe. Taiwan "concerns...

Saturday's demonstration comes ahead of another mass protest planned for the coastal city on Sunday to coincide with a Netanyahu speech to the general assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America. The government's reform proposals would curtail the authority of the Supreme Court and give politicians greater powers over...

Calling for an end to the "unconscionable" fighting in Sudan's capital, US President Joe Biden pushed for an "immediate and unconditional ceasefire". The president made the appeal while informing the country that the US military had evacuated American embassy staff from Khartoum, adding that the embassy was "temporarily suspending operations."

In the midst of strain with Algeria over the Western Sahara, Morocco's King Mohammed VI has appointed a new second-in-command of the armed forces. The number two is Inspector General Mohammed Berid who replaces General Belkhir El Farouk. The king under the country's constitution himself commands the armed forces.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - The Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman on Saturday announced the expulsion of "more than 20" German diplomats as a retaliatory measure for "mass expulsion" of Russian embassy staff from Berlin. Maria Zakharova told state-run television Zvezda that Moscow had decided to expel "more than 20" diplomats. Her statement came...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud discussed bilateral relations in a phone call  with Russian President Vladimir Putin  on Friday. The two leaders exchanged views on a number of issues of common concern, Saudi Press Agency reported.  The...

Geneva, Switzerland -- Researchers from around the world have embarked on an effort to try to build a system allowing humanity to anticipate violent conflicts before they erupt -- and thus potentially prevent them. They will examine dramatic advances in artificial intelligence and how the decisions taken by the world's...

Launched by the World Economic Forum, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the World Bank Group, the scheme aims to help participating countries, including least-developed countries, to use trade to meet their climate targets.

Lebanese authorities have long pushed for Syrian refugees to return, and have made several repatriation efforts they describe as voluntary, but which rights groups say are forced. The United Nations' refugee agency said Friday it was "following up" on the reports, and that it "continues to advocate for the respect...

"(We're a) group of people that wants to end the situation of violence and the hatred between members of the two populations," said Khaled Abu Awad, the Palestinian partner in the initiative. Alaa, a 25-year-old Palestinian from Jerusalem, said he was attending for the first time and did not feel...

TEHRAN, IRAN- Iran said on Thursday it had "forced" a US submarine to surface as it was crossing the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf, a claim the Americans promptly denied. Admiral Shahram Irani, the commander of Iran's navy, told state TV the USS Florida nuclear submarine was "approaching and...

Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq's premier sacked Thursday a security chief in Baghdad, his office said in a statement, after a Sunni cleric jailed for fraud escaped and went on the run for two days. Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani also ordered the closure of the detention facility in the capital's...

Seeking a "durable way forward" for the war-scarred Afghanistan, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is convening an international meeting in May. The closed-door gathering will feature special envoys on Afghanistan from various countries who aim to "clarify expectation" on concerns including the Taliban authorities' restrictions on women.

In one of the deadliest stampedes in a decade, more than 80 people died and hundreds were injured at a charity distribution event in Yemen, according to Houthi officials. The tragedy struck the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country a few days before Eid al-Fitr. A Houthi official said many women and...

"We affirm our readiness to meet and talk with the Syrian government and with all Syrian parties to hold discussions and present initiatives for a solution," the Kurdish authorities said.

Tunis, Tunisia - Fifteen Tunisian migrants are missing after their boat sank in the Mediterranean during an attempt to reach Europe, authorities said Wednesday. The boat carrying 19 Tunisians sank Monday night, said a statement by Tunisia's National Guard, which oversees the coastguard. Four migrants were rescued by a fisherman after...

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - A former Iraqi religious official convicted of corruption has escaped police custody, prompting the arrest of more than two dozen officers suspected of helping him flee, the government said Wednesday. Saad Qambash was once head of Iraq's Sunni Waqf, the state body overseeing religious and civilian properties for...

Jakarta, Indonesia -- On motorcycles, cars, buses, planes or by boat, millions of Indonesians are travelling to their hometowns in the annual Eid holiday exodus that is expected to peak by Thursday. Major seaports and toll roads are packed, while airports and bus terminals are also full of travellers looking forward...

India's population will be 1.4286 billion compared to China's 1.4257 billion at mid-year, the United Nations Population Fund's State of World Population report showed. China's population shrank last year for the first time in more than six decades, official data showed earlier this year.

The weakening of the judiciary and concentration of power will harm the high tech sector, deter foreign investment and make Israel less attractive as an economic partner.

If China successfully mediates the Israel-Palestine peace talks, it will cement its status as a global peacemaker, a role that has long been reserved for the United States.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) released on Tuesday a stark new assessment of 2022 data estimating 34 million Afghans were living below the poverty line. The figure is a staggering increase of 15 million on 2020, the last full year of rule by the Western-backed government that crumbled in...