The new bill earmarked 12.7 percent of the budget to the oil-rich autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. It follows long-standing tensions with Kurdish leaders who had previously denounced amendments relating to oil in the budget, resulting in repeated delays to the vote.

Recycling, in rebel-controlled Syria, is rather a grim lifeline than environmental impulse for desperate residents searching for work or items they otherwise could not afford.

Since the eruption of violence some 200,000 Sudanese nationals have entered Egypt, most of them through land crossings. Egyptian authorities had so far exempted Sudanese women of all ages, children under 16 and anyone over 50 from having to obtain a visa prior to arrival at a point of entry.

Although many ceasefires have been broken, yet the twenty-four truce is seen as a chance to give the people of Sudan a brief respite from the ongoing civil war. Saudi and US mediators have warned that failure to observe the ceasefire would force facilitators to consider adjourning talks in Jeddah.

"Transportation disruptions, market devastation and the absence of financing... will have catastrophic impacts on the food security of the people of Sudan and the surrounding region," said the head of the Khartoum-based Arab Organisation for Agriculture Development, Ibrahim al-Dakhiri. Although some farmers have sown crops like maize, millet or oilseeds...

The UAE energy minister Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei said he expected the outcome of meeting to "balance the market and ensure we are ready for any challenges in the future". Analysts expected OPEC+ producers to maintain their current policy, but signs emerged that staying the course might fall short of...

Volunteers have buried 102 unidentified bodies in the capital's cemetery and 78 more in Darfur, ever since the fighting between the country's warring generals erupted on April 15. Both Burhan and his deputy-turned-rival Daglo have pledged repeatedly to protect civilians and secure humanitarian corridors. But civilians reported escalated fighting after...

The mediators of the talks in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah have acknowledged repeated violations of the truce by both sides but have so far held off imposing any sanctions in the hope of keeping the warring parties at the negotiating table. The army walked out "because the rebels...

The Israeli military said "suspects fired heavily at the forces, who responded with fire toward the armed men" during a raid in Jenin. Since the start of the year, at least 155 Palestinians, 20 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian have been killed in violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,...

Since the start of the war in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against regime positions as well as Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah forces, allies of Damascus and arch-foes of Israel. Israel rarely comments on the strikes on a case-by-case basis, but says it seeks...

The UN chief was "shocked" by Burhan's letter, which requested "the nomination of a replacement" to Perthes and accused him of committing "fraud and disinformation" in facilitating a political process. Burhan and his rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo were meant to meet for negotiations on April 15, the day Khartoum became...

After nearly six weeks of street battles between forces loyal to rival generals and with temperatures regularly topping 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), many inhabitants of the capital's northern suburbs are in desperate need of drinking water.

"The transfer of nuclear munitions has begun," Lukashenko told reporters during a visit to Moscow to meet with President Vladimir Putin. In Washington, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called Russia's move "yet another example of making irresponsible and provocative choices".

Sudanese who cross into Egypt's south must then buy a bus ticket to take them to the nearest major city, Aswan, around 200 kilometres north of the border. They are greeted there by volunteers who offer a hot meal -- the first for many since embarking on the perilous desert...

"Only a few cases of child abandonment" were officially documented before the war broke out in 2011, according to the Washington-based group Syrians for Truth and Justice, which records human rights abuses in the country. But between early 2021 and late 2022, more than 100 children -- 62 of them girls...

Sporadic artillery fire still echoed in Sudan's capital, but residents said fighting had calmed following a US and Saudi-brokered ceasefire, raising faint hopes in the embattled city. The truce, to allow desperately needed humanitarian aid for civilians, took effect Monday night only to be quickly marred by more gunshots and...

Sudan is the world's largest producer of the raw gum which is a major source of foreign currency for the northeast African nation. The sector has survived repeated conflicts, a warming climate and decades of sanctions.

Bakhmut, which once had a population of 70,000 people, has been the scene of the bloodiest battle in Moscow's more than year-long Ukraine offensive. The fall of Bakhmut, where both Moscow and Kyiv are believed to have suffered huge losses, would allow Moscow to bring home a key victory after...

Erdogan made the announcement one day before it had been due to expire, scoring a diplomatic coup ahead of a May 28 runoff election in which he will try to extend his two-decade rule until 2028. He thanked "my precious friend", Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky and...

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...

Muscat, Oman--Qatar Chamber (QC) Chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al-Thani has called for a unified policy for purchase of food and medicine at a meeting in Muscat. This came during his participation in the consultative meeting between GCC ministers of commerce and heads of unions and chambers of commerce and...

Riyadh,  Saudi Arabia - Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah discussed in a phone call on Friday, with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, bilateral relations and the ongoing war in Ukraine. During the call, the two ministers also exchanged views on a number of regional...

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, in place since July after diplomacy by the United Nations and Turkey, allows Ukraine grain exports via port, helping ease shortages and resulting price spikes triggered by Russia's invasion of the breadbasket nation. More than 30 million tonnes of grain and agricultural products have been...

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.

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...

Vlad Marinescu, the IJF director general said that the IJF executive committee voted unanimously to reinstate Russians and Belarusians. The decision to end the ban followed a recommendation of the International Olympic Committee.

Diplomatic efforts have intensified to end more than two weeks of war in Africa's third-largest country as warnings multiply about a "catastrophic" humanitarian crisis. Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy turned rival, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), "have agreed in principle...

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said he was not giving estimates of Ukrainian casualties because "they are the victims here. Russia is the aggressor." The White House will not put "information in the public domain that makes it any harder" for the close Western ally, whose army is being...

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 London-based rights group said the Syrians were expelled following raids on their homes in various parts of the country, adding that those who had "entered the country irregularly or held expired residency cards" were deported. It cited the brother of one refugee as saying that the Lebanese armed forces...

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...

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.

The Observatory, which has a wide network of sources on the ground in Syria, said fighters riding motorbikes also attacked a group of shepherds in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, killing five and seizing their livestock. Two other shepherds were kidnapped, the war monitor said.

Houthi political leader Mohamed Ali al-Houthi said the talks were conducted in a "positive atmosphere", with plans for another round. On Saturday, before the Saudi visit, a Yemeni government source said the Saudis and Houthis had agreed in principle on a six-month truce to pave the way for three months...

Evan Gershkovich was formally charged with espionage by Russia, according to Russian news agencies, accusation rejected both by the reporter and his employer, the Wall Street Journal. The charges are the first of their kind in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union, sparking off an outcry from media...

Tensions have soared between Israel and Palestinians during what is both the Jewish Passover and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, prompting international calls for restraint. On Thursday, the Israeli army said more than 30 rockets had been fired from Lebanese territory into Israel in the largest escalation on the...

Mansaf, the kingdom's national dish of lamb cooked in dried yogurt, served with rice and nuts, was inscribed on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage in 2022.

Kyiv, Ukraine--Ukraine on Saturday branded Russia's presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of April "a slap in the face", joining a chorus of outrage from Western countries. Moscow assumes the presidency as part of its monthly rotation between the Security Council's 15 member states, with ties with the...

Two weeks after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly backed its bid, Turkish lawmakers unanimously supported Finland's membership of the US-led defense alliance after the Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Turkey was the final NATO nation to ratify the Nordic country's accession, which NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said will make the "NATO...

Moscow, Russia--Russian oil sales to India surged more than twentyfold last year as European buyers turned to other markets following the conflict in Ukraine, Russia's deputy prime minister said Tuesday. Russia shifted its oil exports to India and China last year as European Union nations sought to end their reliance on...

The Britain-based Observatory, which has a wide network of sources on the ground, said 19 people were killed in the first wave of US strikes: three Syrian soldiers and 16 members of Iran-backed militias. After the strikes, Biden sought to lower the temperature saying the US "does not seek conflict...

It was the second such attack in a month on the airport in Syria's second city, which has been a major conduit for relief flights since a February 6 earthquake devastated swathes of northern Syria and neighboring Turkey. The pre-dawn strike targeted "the airport compound and a weapons depot belonging to...

Just hours after Putin visited Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of the peninsula's annexation, video distributed by the Kremlin showed him landing by helicopter in Mariupol, the port city that Moscow captured after a long siege last spring. The Russian leader took a tour of the city and was...

Since the beginning of his administration in 2021, President Joe Biden has urged Congress to revoke the 1991 and 2002 AUMFs. In a statement Thursday on the revocations of the 1991 and 2002 AUMFs, the Biden administration said the president is ready to work with Congress to replace other "outdated...

United Nations, United States--The surprise rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran should offer momentum toward peace by the warring parties in Yemen after eight years of conflict, UN officials said Wednesday. The UN Security Council on Wednesday discussed the impact on Yemen of the shock Chinese-led announcement on March 10 that...

In order to reinstate full food rations for millions in Yemen, the WFP has said that it requires more than double the money raised for all United Nations agencies in Yemen this year. The UN was able to raise only $1.2 billion for all its agencies in Yemen at a...

Just days ahead of the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion that resulted in war, chaos, and political instability, Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said that his government had prepared a three-year budget for the oil-dependent economy traditionally plagued by budgetary delays. The bill will include financial aid to...

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.

The 47-year-old ship has not been serviced since Yemen's devastating civil war broke out in 2015 and was left abandoned off the rebel-held port of Hodeida, a critical gateway for shipments into the country heavily dependent on emergency foreign aid. UN officials have voiced fears that the ship would crumble,...

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been politically isolated in the region since the start of Syria's war in 2011, triggered by the government's suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations, and was expelled from the Cairo-based Arab League. But since the quake, Arab leaders have made overtures to his government. "We welcome the...