SFAX, TUNISIA - Thousands of Tunisian trade unionists held protests across the country on Saturday over worsening economic woes and the arrest of a top union official. The North African country is in drawn-out talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout loan, which the powerful UGTT workers' federation has...

DUBAI, UAE -  Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi has marked the first anniversary of the signing of the landmark UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement during two important events in the UAE. On Friday, Al Zeyoudi received a delegation from the Federation of Indian...

The death toll from an attack blamed on the Islamic State group in Syria has risen to 68, a war monitor said, the deadliest attack in over a year. "A total of 61 civilians and seven soldiers have been killed in the attack," said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the...

Washington, United States--The IMF said Friday it has reached a staff-level agreement with Ukrainian authorities that opens doors to a full-fledged loan, which would also support the country's bid to join the European Union. Ukraine was seen to have "strong" performance under a four-month program with the International Monetary Fund, meeting...

Abu Dhabi, UAE--The first batch of naval vessels arrived at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre Waterfront (ADNEC Marina) today, to take part in NAVDEX 2023. NAVDEX 2023 will be held in conjunction with IDEX 2023 from 20th-24th February. The first batch comprised of seven naval vessels of different sizes...

In one of the deadliest attacks carried out by the IS this year, some 53 people were killed on Friday in an ambush in central Syria. According to the director of Palmyra hospital, those killed were 46 civilians and seven soldiers. State television said that the slain were truffle hunting...

WASHINGTON, US - An explosion wounded four American military personnel during a raid that killed a senior Islamic State (IS) group leader in Syria, the US military's Central Command said Friday. "Last night, during a partnered US and Syrian Democratic Forces helicopter raid in northeastern Syria, an explosion on target resulted...

TUNIS, TUNISIA -  A goalkeeper at a top-flight Tunisian football club has reached Italy as a clandestine migrant, his club said Friday, as the dire economy pushes thousands into making similar journeys. "Due to the financial crisis facing the club, and difficult living conditions (in Tunisia), the goalkeeper of Avenir Sportif...

Seismologists warn that a massive earthquake is likely to strike Turkey's biggest city -- officially home to 16 million people but estimated to hold up to 20 million -- by 2030. The city lies on the northern edge of one of Turkey's main fault lines and is densely packed.

Just weeks after the BBC aired a documentary examining Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's role in deadly 2002 sectarian riots, tax inspectors descended on the broadcaster's offices. Modi's party says the two are not connected, but rights groups say the BBC raids this week show the parlous state of press...

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement that the funds would provide humanitarian relief for three months to 5.2 million people. The money would "allow aid organizations to rapidly scale up vital support," including in the areas of food security, protection, education, water and shelter, he added.

Baghdad, Iraq---A leading campaigner for the preservation of Iraq's famed southern marshlands has been freed, two weeks after he was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen, his family said on Thursday. Jassim al-Assadi, 65, head of environmentalist group Nature Iraq, was seized on February 1 as he drove to the capital Baghdad on...

Blinken will visit Incirlik air base, through which the United States has shipped aid, and then hold talks in the capital Ankara on "continued US support," State Department spokesman Ned Price said Wednesday. The top US diplomat will also take part in the Munich Security Conference, where the Ukraine war...

The 15-member council is likely to vote on Monday on the text, drafted by the United Arab Emirates in coordination with the Palestinians.

Washington, United States--The United States on Wednesday denounced Tunisia's arrest of critics of President Kais Saied and called for transparent legal proceedings. "We're deeply concerned by the reported arrests of multiple political figures, business leaders and journalists in Tunisia in recent days," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. "We respect...

The company delivered 661 aircraft last year.

Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan "has ordered the provision of an additional US$50 million as relief aid for quake-affected people in Syria", reports said.

Last week's quake has affected more than seven million children, including 2.5 million in Syria alone, according to James Elder of UNICEF.

Dubai, UAE---A court in Makkah has fined Saudi Binladin Group SR20 million ($5.33 million) after the Group was convicted of negligence and violation of safety rules in the crane crash in the Grand Mosque of Makkah, media reports said. A total of 111 people were killed and 394 others injured...

Rights group Amnesty International has said Sultan Al Jaber is "unfit" for the COP28 presidency, being the CEO of state-owned oil giant ADNOC, while Western officials have defended his role in the crucial talks set for November and December.

The first UN delegation to visit rebel-held northwestern Syria since last week's earthquake crossed over from Turkey, AFP reported, as anger simmers at the world body's slow response. Over 35,000 people were killed when the quake devastated swathes of Syria and neighboring Turkey on February 6, at least 3,600 of...

"In Turkey, the total number of children living in the 10 provinces hit by the two earthquakes was 4.6 million children. In Syria, 2.5 million children are affected," James Elder, spokesman for the UN children's agency Unicef, told reporters in Geneva.

After more than a decade of war, Assad's government remains a pariah in the West, complicating international efforts to assist those affected by the quake. Martin Griffiths also met Monday with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad in Damascus after visiting government-controlled Aleppo, where more than 200,000 people have been left...

The supplies sent to Damascus, containing "30 tons of food, medical supplies, blankets and other materials", followed a similar delivery of aid to Turkey on Friday, the foreign ministry in Khartoum said.

Raisi is expected to hold private talks with his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping in the capital Beijing, with the pair expected to sign a number of "cooperation documents". The two met for the first time last September in Uzbekistan at a summit for the SCO, where the Iranian president...

The measures, which were inching towards approval through a series of preliminary votes inside the chamber, have provoked widespread criticism and charges that they would give the legislative branch nearly unchecked authority.

They have warned they will reconsider "all ties" with Lebanon if parliament fails to elect a president amid a worsening financial crisis. The warning came after the ambassadors or representatives of the United States, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt met Prime Minister Najib Mikati in Beirut.

Washington strenuously denied Beijing's charges as "false" and insisted it was China alone that has surreptitiously flown spy balloons, as tensions ramped up between the two superpowers. The downing of an alleged Chinese airship off the coast of South Carolina earlier this month prompted a resolution in the US Congress...

Netanyahu said earlier Sunday during a meeting of his government he wanted to "strengthen settlements", which are illegal under international law. The measures apply to Israeli Arabs as well as to Palestinians with resident status in east Jerusalem, part of the city annexed by Israel. The measures apply to Israeli...

On Sunday the Pentagon said that it does not yet know what the other three objects -- one shot down Friday over Alaska, one Saturday over Canada's Yukon territory, and the most recent one Sunday over Lake Huron -- are. But it said that the object downed Sunday had been...

Lebanon has adopted a policy of dissociation from Syria's years-long war but on Wednesday, it sent its first high-level official delegation and rescue team to Damascus since the start of the conflict. The delegation met with Assad and expressed readiness to open Lebanon's air and sea ports to help send...

Damascus, Syria--Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday thanked the United Arab Emirates for its emergency response and tens of millions pledged in aid to the quake-hit country, the presidency said. "The UAE was among the first countries that stood with Syria and sent huge relief and humanitarian aid and search and...

The Palestinian Red Crescent said one person was killed in a pre-dawn Israeli army raid in Nablus in the northern West Bank, the scene of near-relentless violence over the past year.

A UN convoy with supplies for northwest Syria arrived via Turkey, but the agency's relief chief Martin Griffiths said much more was needed for millions whose homes were destroyed. "We have so far failed the people in northwest Syria. They rightly feel abandoned. Looking for international help that hasn't arrived,"...

Given that these bots still make factual blunders, often show bias and could even spout libelous statements, some are clamoring for them to be tightly controlled.

On his upcoming trip, Raisi is expected to hold private talks with Xi, and delegations from both countries are due to sign "cooperation documents", according to Iranian media agency.

Monday's 7.8-magnitude tremor struck Kahramanmaras in the country's southeast, unleashing catastrophe in the region and Syria, killing at least 28,000 people. Anguished families flock to sports halls, hospital morgues or cemeteries in the severely hit city -- where bodies are piling up -- in a bid to find their missing...

The call came as rescue workers continued their search for survivors in the rubble of the 7.8 magnitude quake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday, with the death toll approaching 24,000. The UN security council will meet on Syria -- likely early next week -- according to Swiss envoy...

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said the measures taken following Russia's invasion of Ukraine helped European nations whether Russia cutting off most of its gas supplies. The IEA said the meeting is expected to identify and endorse measures to improve the balance between gas supply and demand.

The two sides reaffirmed their keenness to advance bilateral cooperation in the fields of human resources and skill development.

In the Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, one of those hit hardest, the stench of death clung to the air. But as crews entered a fifth day of peeling back flattened buildings, Turkish media reported rescues of young children, long after the expiration of the 72-hour window when survivors are considered...

The 7.8-magnitude quake struck as people slept early Monday, with Turkish officials saying that over 70,000 people have been injured across 10 southeastern provinces hit hardest by the disaster. "We are providing immediate assistance and preparing a rapid assessment of the urgent and massive needs on the ground," said World...

Bitter cold has hampered the four-day search of thousands of flattened buildings and threatened the lives of many quake victims who are without shelter and drinking water. Relatives were left scouring body bags laid out in a hospital car park in Turkey's southern city of Antakya to search for missing...

Brussels, Belgium--The 27 EU leaders wrote to their Turkish counterpart President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday to express their "full solidarity" and offer more emergency aid after a devastating earthquake. "We stand ready to further step up our support in close coordination with the Turkish authorities. Our thoughts will continue...

Jerusalem--Cracks have emerged within Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hardline government, with a row over the demolition of a settlement outpost in the occupied West Bank testing the fledgling coalition. Netanyahu vowed in December to expand settlements across the West Bank, as he returned to power at the helm of...

Cairo, Egypt-- Senior Libyan officials from both rival administrations on Wednesday endorsed a coordination mechanism to clear the war-torn country of foreign troops and mercenaries, the United Nations announced. The UN mission in the North African country hailed "an important step toward achieving sustainable stability and peace in Libya" after a...

Rabat, Morocco--The Moroccan parliament decried Wednesday an "unjust campaign" against it at the European Parliament ahead of a hearing in Brussels over the North African country's alleged use of Pegasus spyware. The European Parliament is set to hear from experts, human rights defenders and journalists on Thursday on claims that Morocco...

Tensions between Algeria and France have spiked again after Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Wednesday decided to recall his country's envoy to France "for consultations". The fresh outbreak of discord was caused when Paris intervened to fly out French-Algerian activist Amira Bouraoui wanted by Algiers.

First responders from the group that was formed a decade ago to save the lives of civilians during Syria's civil war sprung into action early Monday when a 7.8-magnitude quake rocked Syria and Turkey. They have been toiling ever since to pull survivors out from under the debris of buildings.

Last week, Iran claimed Israel launched a drone strike on a military plant in the central city of Isfahan.