Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has "welcomed" an invitation from Saudi Arabia's King Salman to visit the kingdom following the reconciliation between the two countries, an Iranian official said. "In a letter to President Raisi... the King of Saudi Arabia welcomed the deal between the two countries (and) invited him to...

DOHA, QATAR -  Qatari prosecutors have charged former finance minister Ali Sharif Al-Emadi with bribery, money laundering and a range of corruption charges, the state news agency said Sunday. Al-Emadi, 54, was arrested in May 2021 when he was one of the most influential business executives in the Middle East. He...

The ruling was made due to discrepancies in the decree dissolving the previous parliament, the official KUNA news agency said. The September polls were the most inclusive in a decade and saw opposition members take a parliamentary majority with 28 out of 50 seats.

Xi is pushing for a greater role for China on the global stage and rumours that he may soon hold his first call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have raised hopes in Western capitals that Xi may lean on his "old friend" Putin to stop his bloody invasion during the...

"Canada is committed to providing relief to those impacted by the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria," said Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

Donald Trump called on his supporters to "protest, take our nation back", as he expects to be arrested over an alleged hush-money payment made to a porn star in 2016. Amid growing signs of prosecutors moving closer to an indictment, the 76-year-old billionaire said on his Truth Social platform that...

Turkey announced the extension of a deal that has allowed exports of Ukrainian grain to resume following Russia's invasion, but it was unclear if it had been prolonged for 60 or 120 days. Russia said it had agreed to a 60-day extension, while Ukraine's infrastructure minister said the deal had...

Turkey's top diplomat said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi would meet to mark the end of a decade of estrangement between the two countries. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, speaking alongside his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry during a visit to Cairo, said Ankara wanted to...

PARIS, FRANCE  -  COP28 President-Designate Dr. Sultan Al Jaber met French President Emmanuel Macron and outlined his vision on the need to reform multilateral financial institutions to unlock capital for clean technologies and adaptation efforts. During his meeting with Macron, Dr. Al Jaber emphasized the need for ambitious reforms across...

TEHRAN, IRAN -  An Iranian court sentenced two people to death over an October attack on a shrine in the southern city of Shiraz that cost over a dozen lives, the judiciary said Saturday. The pair were convicted of assisting in "corruption on earth, armed rebellion and acting against national security",...

AMMAN,  JORDAN -  Vice President of the Jordan Chamber of Commerce (JCC) Jamal Rifai discussed with Hungarian Ambassador to Jordan Attila Kali ways to develop joint economic and trade relations and the role of commerce chambers in strengthening them. According to a JCC statement on Saturday, the meeting went over...

New Delhi, India--India has stepped up multi-faceted consultations with GCC states ahead of the Group of Twenty (G20) Summit to be held in New Delhi in September under its presidency. A 12th round of India-Oman Strategic Consultative Group meeting in Muscat “reviewed bilateral ties in different domains and identified new...

Ankara, Turkey--Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ended months of diplomatically charged delays on Friday and asked parliament to quickly back Finland's bid to join NATO. A simultaneous decision by fellow holdout Hungary to schedule a Finnish ratification vote for March 27 means the US-led defence alliance will likely grow to 31...

The Palestinian health ministry announced the death of Yazan Omar Jamil Khasib, 23, who died "after the occupation (Israel) opened fire on him at the northern entrance of Al-Bireh" city near Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli army said "soldiers spotted a suspect and asked him to identify...

Taoufik Charfeddine, a close aide of Tunisia's President and the country's interior minister, has announced his resignation in order to spend more time with his three children in the wake of the death of his wife last year. His wife died in a fire caused by a gas leak in...

TOKYO, JAPAN - The ninth session of the Abu Dhabi-Japan Economic Council (ADJEC) here has reaffirmed its commitment to further enhance partnerships and benefits from investments opportunities. Chairman of Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi and President of Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East...

The UAE and Georgia signed a joint statement confirming the successful conclusion of negotiations towards the UAE-Georgia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi and Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia Levan Davitashvili...

Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh maintained his innocence following a second day of questioning before European investigators in Beirut as part of a probe into his personal wealth. Salameh, 72, is part of the Lebanese political elite widely blamed for a crushing economic crisis that began in late 2019.

It follows a visit last month by Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to Turkey in a show of solidarity after the devastating earthquake that claimed tens of thousands of lives in Turkey and neighboring Syria. Relations ran into trouble after the 2013 ouster of Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, an...

NEW YORK, US - The United Nations Security Council Friday unanimously adopted two resolutions tabled by the UAE and Japan about Afghanistan. The first resolution will extend the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for an additional 12 months, enabling it to continue its work on...

The two leaders "will discuss deepening the exhaustive partnership and strategic cooperation between Russia and China", including on the international stage, the Kremlin said, adding, "important bilateral documents will be signed". The visit will come just over a year into Moscow's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

Demonstrators gathered in Jerusalem and the northern city of Haifa to denounce the overhaul that would, among other things, allow lawmakers to scrap supreme court rulings with a simple majority vote. Some opposition leaders joined a later rally in central Tel Aviv.

Thirty houses were burned and damaged, according to local officials, after dozens of Israeli settlers set them ablaze. Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's finance minister and an extreme-right settler, later said "Huwara needs to be wiped out", sparking widespread condemnation, including from the UAE, the UN, the United States and France.

Salameh had been summoned to appear on Wednesday but failed to show up, alleging that "the presence of international judges in Lebanon and the investigation into the financial matters is in conflict with national sovereignty". The judiciary rejected his claim and the session was rescheduled for Thursday.

BEIRUT, LEBANON - The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon said Thursday it had not observed any border crossings after Israel said it killed a suspect wearing an explosive belt who may have entered from Lebanon. The Israeli army said on Wednesday it was probing the possible involvement of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement...

The Syrian leader, who arrived in Moscow on Tuesday, demanded that Turkey end its "support for terrorism" alongside a withdrawal, a reference to rebel groups that control regions of northern Syria and oppose Damascus. "This is the only way in which my meeting with Erdogan could take place," Assad was...

The initial conversation between Xi and Mohammed bin Salman took place during bilateral talks at a summit in Riyadh in December, an official told AFP. Several other meetings also laid the groundwork for last week's talks in Beijing, the official said.

Salameh had been summoned to appear at Beirut's justice palace on Wednesday morning but objected to the session and instead sent a legal representative, the judicial official told AFP on condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to speak to the media.

"Dear Mr President, I am very glad to see you in Moscow. Thank you for accepting our invitation," Putin told Assad at the start of their meeting broadcast by state TV. "We are in constant contact and our relations are developing."

Iran has been under renewed US sanctions since then president Donald Trump abandoned a landmark nuclear agreement between Tehran and major powers in 2018. Saudi Arabia, a longtime US ally, has said it supports the sanctions, which target key areas, including oil.

JERUSALEM- Israel's parliament took another step Tuesday to push forward a legal reform package that has sparked mass protests against the hard-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Lawmakers in a 3:00 am (0100 GMT) vote approved a bill in first reading that would, among other things, allow the Knesset...

US consumer inflation edged down in February but remains elevated, according to government data, adding pressure to the Federal Reserve as it balances its inflation fight with financial stability concerns. The central bank has been on an aggressive campaign to tame inflation, raising interest rates eight times since early last...

Consultations to prolong Ukrainian grain exports deal are continuing, the UN said, after a Russian proposal for just a 60-day extension cast doubt over its fate. "The United Nations will do everything possible to preserve the integrity of the agreement and ensure its continuity," Jens Laerke, spokesman for the United...

The 27-country bloc would like to develop the partnership with Algeria "looking at the future, by prioritizing European investments in the renewable energy sector", Josep Borrell added in a statement. European governments, scrambling to find alternatives to Russian gas since last year's invasion of Ukraine that has sent prices soaring,...

The world is facing a new environment where powerful global leaders and corporate leaders are creating uncertainty and risk, Eurasia Group chief Ian Bremmer tells TRENDS.

State television broadcast the proceedings and only official media were permitted to cover the session, with representatives of Tunisia's private press and foreign journalists denied access, according to an AFP correspondent. "What is happening is dangerous and reflects the authorities' unjustified distrust of the media," Amira Mohamed, deputy head of...

A Lebanese judge has asked central bank chief Riad Salameh to appear before visiting European investigators, a judicial official said Monday, part of a multinational probe into his personal wealth. The embattled central bank chief faces embezzlement accusations in separate investigations in Lebanon and abroad, looking into the fortune he...

Russia has agreed to extend the Ukraine grain export deal following talks with the United Nations - but only for a further 60 days. Moscow said it wanted to see "tangible progress" on a parallel agreement on Russian exports before the deal comes up for renewal again.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron last Friday agreed a new pact worth over 500 million euros to thwart illegal migration across the Channel.

Tunisia inaugurated a new parliament largely stripped of its powers, after a vote that saw a paltry turnout amid boycotts following President Kais Saied's July 2021 power grab. The new assembly held its first session at the legislature's traditional home in Bardo, a suburb of the capital Tunis.

Iran said it would welcome restoring ties with Bahrain to end seven years of ruptured relations, following the China-brokered deal to heal rifts between Tehran and Riyadh. "The resumption of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia shows the effectiveness of the diplomatic solution to resolve misunderstandings," said Iran's foreign ministry...

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - The world failed to act quickly enough to rush life-saving aid to Syrians in desperate need following the devastating earthquake, United Nations investigators said Monday. The quake response was characterized by failures by the government, other factions in the civil war, the international community and the UN itself,...

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) president Filippo Grandi concluded a five-day visit to earthquake-devastated areas of Syria and Turkey. He visited survivors, affected people and humanitarian staff working at the ground. The earthquake has claimed 54,000 lives in the two countries and caused massive destruction...

Lukashenko said he had observed "with great respect the perseverance with which the (Iranian) people resist external pressures, attempts to impose the will of others on them". "And I see that, despite everything, you are developing modern technologies and nuclear energy," he added about Iran's contested nuclear programme which has...

Italy's coastguard said the boat in distress was in Libya's search-and-rescue zone, and that the deadly episode laid bare "the inactivity" of other countries in the Mediterranean. The latest disaster in the Mediterranean comes exactly two weeks after a shipwreck off Italy's southern coast of Calabria that killed at least...

Nablus, Palestinian Territories - Three Palestinian gunmen were shot dead after they fired at Israeli soldiers in the northern West Bank near Nablus, the Israeli army said on Sunday, as violence in the region continued. The military said that "armed gunmen opened fire" on soldiers at an army position near the...

TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran's top diplomat on Sunday said "everything is ready" to implement a stalled prisoner exchange deal with the United States, which Washington promptly denied as a "cruel lie". At least three US citizens are held in the country's prisons, according to Iran's judiciary and the US State Department....

TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran's judiciary on Sunday confirmed a death sentence for a Swedish-Iranian dissident for "terrorism" over two years since his disappearance at an airport in Turkey, the judiciary's Mizan Online website reported. Habib Chaab has been held in Iran since October 2020 after he vanished during a visit to...

TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran has announced more than 100 arrests nationwide over the mystery poisonings of thousands of schoolgirls, charging that the unidentified alleged perpetrators may have links with "hostile" groups. In the wave of cases since late November, schoolgirls have suffered fainting, nausea, shortness of breath and other symptoms after...

Israeli airstrikes targeting a weapons depot in Syria killed two pro-Iran fighters and wounded three soldiers, a war monitor said. "Israeli strikes targeted a weapons depot belonging to pro-Iran forces located... between Tartus and Hama provinces," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.