The central character, pickpocket turned master assassin Basim, speaks classical Arabic in "Assassin's Creed Mirage",.

WASHINGTON, US - The growth of the economies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is expected to fall sharply this year, the World Bank said. The region’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to fall to 1.9 percent in 2023 from 6 percent in 2022, due to oil...

A branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) -- listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies -- claimed responsibility for the first bombing to hit Ankara since 2016.

Washington, US - Growing geopolitical fragmentation since the invasion of Ukraine has hit commodity markets, threatening to slow the transition to renewable energy as the world looks to combat climate change, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. The fractures have led to a doubling in new trade restrictions on commodities...

WASHINGTON, US - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board approved a Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) for Morocco of about US$1.3 billion. The arrangement will support Morocco’s transition to a greener economy and help strengthen its preparedness and resilience against natural disasters, including from climate change, the Washington-based institution...

WASHINGTON, US - The United States is heading toward a government shutdown this weekend with no foreseeable way out of a deadlock in Congress over hardline Republican calls for deep spending cuts. The new US fiscal year begins on October 1, but sharp disagreements in the Republican Party over the scale...

WASHINGTON, US - President Joe Biden's administration on Friday announced it would auction three new oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico, triggering a furious reaction from environmental groups who said the move would accelerate climate change. Biden, who faces re-election next year, has repeatedly broken his promise made...

WASHINGTON, US  - China is seeking to surpass the United States as the top power in the world, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday, as he again warned on Taiwan. Successive US presidents have called China the top long-term challenge to the United States, but some US analysts...

Wednesday's launch was carried out by the aerospace wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological arm of the country's armed forces.

WASHINGTON, US -  The sea ice around Antarctica likely had a record low surface area when it was at its maximum size this winter, a preliminary US analysis of satellite data showed.  As the southern hemisphere transitions into spring, the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said in a statement...

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV also announced the launch of an "Economic Working Group" and "Financial Working Group," saying both will hold "regular and irregular meetings to strengthen communication and exchange on relevant issues."

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman cautioned against the world witnessing another tragedy like Hiroshima in an interview, saying it would mean war against rest of the world.

The WSJ's report, released on Monday, cited anonymous sources stating that while talks between Tesla and Saudi Arabia were in their infancy, the outcome remained uncertain. The report highlighted potential roadblocks, including Musk's reportedly strained relationship with the Saudis and the presence of Lucid Motors, a Tesla competitor, which is...

Washington, United States - Russian Ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, on Friday asked the United States to remove sanctions barriers to revive the Black Sea grain initiative.  "Local officials, engaged in myth-making, are once again shifting from a sick head to a healthy one. Russia has repeatedly, primarily at the...

The Breakthrough Prize awards "the world's most brilliant minds" in fields including life sciences, fundamental physics and mathematics

Washington, United States - Consumer inflation in the United States picked up in August for a second straight month, according to government data released Wednesday, putting the heat on policymakers as they work to lower prices. The consumer price index (CPI), a key inflation gauge, jumped 3.7 percent from a year...

Washington, US - A landmark case pitting the US government against Google over the dominance of the company's world-dominating search engine began in a Washington courtroom on Tuesday. "This case is about the future of the internet and whether Google will ever face meaningful competition in search," said Justice Department lawyer...

Washington, US - The REPO (Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs) task force, set up to search and freeze Russia-related assets, estimates the overall value of sovereign Russian assets, blocked by the West, at $280 billion. “The total value of assets <…> is estimated at around $280 billion, the majority of which is held in the European Union,” the US Department of the Treasury...

Washington, US – The ‘gig economy’ accounts for up to 12 percent of the global labor market—much higher than previously estimated—and holds particular promise for women and youth in developing countries. Demand for online gig work is growing rapidly, however, social protections for workers in this segment are still lacking,...

The leaders of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank announced that the two institutions will collaborate more closely to tackle the "existential threat" posed by climate change. "Climate change is a threat to global peace, security, economic stability," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and World Bank President Ajay Banga...

ABU DHABI -- The United Arab Emirates Embassy in Washington, in coordination with representatives of the UAE's officials mission in the United States, has evacuated 34 Emirati nationals residing in Tampa, Florida to safe destinations, as hurricane Idalia arrives ashore the west coast of the state of Florida. Yousef Al...

Washington, United States - NASA has spotted a small new crater on the Moon that was likely caused by a Russian probe crash landing on the surface around two weeks ago. The finding was made by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) by comparing before and after images of the estimated impact...

Washington, United States - Economic growth in the United States was weaker than first estimated for the April to June period, the Commerce Department said Wednesday, noting downward revisions in business investment. GDP growth in the world's biggest economy came in at 2.1 percent for the second quarter, down from the...

Raisi was referring to sanctions imposed on Iran since the United States torpedoed the nuclear deal in 2018, as well as protests that erupted in September 2022 over a young woman's death in custody.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia  - Saudi Arabia has to not only enhance its defensive capabilities but also establish effective deterrence measures against Iran and its proxies, particularly in the context of its ambitious Vision 2030 initiative, a latest analysis by Middle East Institute (MEI) says.  The policy brief authored by MEI...

The US Federal Reserve is prepared to raise interest rates higher - and hold them there - to bring down above-target inflation, chairman Jerome Powell said. "We are prepared to raise rates …. until we are confident that inflation is moving sustainably down toward our objective," he told the Jackson...

With support from a military force from neighboring Saudi Arabia, Bahrain crushed the 2011 protests which had demanded a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister.Bahrain faced US criticism at the time, with former president Barack Obama imposing an arms embargo for four years. But Obama's successor Donald Trump fully...

"Vessels are being advised to transit as far away from Iranian territorial waters as possible" to minimize the risk of seizure, US Fifth Fleet spokesperson Commander Tim Hawkins told AFP. The International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC), led by Washington, is "notifying regional mariners of appropriate precautions to minimize the risk...

WASHINGTON, US - Elon Musk said that his much-hyped cage fight with Mark Zuckerberg would take place in Italy, as authorities there confirmed talks about hosting a "great charity event." While any showdown between the two tech titans has yet to be officially confirmed, Musk said on Friday on his X...

Washington, United States - The US trade deficit narrowed in June on a bigger pullback in imports than exports, according to government data released on Tuesday. The overall trade gap came in at $65.5 billion in June, down from a revised $68.3 billion figure in May, Commerce Department data showed. This...

Washington, United States - Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI) has led to a surge in global food prices by 10-15 percent, impacting everyone, including African nations, said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during an interview with Al Jazeera.  The initiative was primarily established due to...

Tokyo, Japan - Iran's foreign minister visited Japan on Monday for the first time since 2019, in a rare trip to a G7 member country by the Islamic republic's top diplomat. The purpose of the visit by Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to the current chair of the G7 was not announced, but reports...

A US central bank official said that more interest rate hikes "will likely be needed" to bring inflation down further, shortly after policymakers lifted rates to the highest level since 2001. Federal Reserve governor Michelle Bowman said she supported the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee's decision for a rate hike...

Dubai, UAE - Human rights groups have accused Saudi Arabia of detaining five relatives of a US citizen who pursued a commercial lawsuit in Pennsylvania against royals including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The five detainees appeared briefly on Monday at the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh, which was established in...

Washington, US - A Federal Reserve official left open the possibility on Monday of pausing or stopping interest rate hikes at the central bank's next policy meeting in September, saying "there's nothing off the table." "Thus far we're on the golden path and we've got to walk that line," Chicago Fed...

The IMF said the global inflation picture has improved somewhat, with consumer prices now forecast to increase by 6.8 percent this year, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous forecast in April.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition allies approved the bill in a Knesset vote boycotted by opposition lawmakers, some of whom shouted "shame, shame". Critics charge the judicial revamp could open the way to more authoritarian government by removing checks and balances on the Israeli executive.

The US-Arab Strategic Dialogue discussed Middle East peace and the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, among other issues. The dialogue concluded successfully and the US and Arab League issued a joint statement on several issues. They statement said that they will counter terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms.

Microsoft did not identify the targets but a US State Department spokesperson said the department had "detected anomalous activity" and had taken "immediate steps to secure our systems."

IDB will fund renewable projects by joining ETAF platform.

More than 10 million people have signed up to Threads, Meta's rival to Twitter, within the first few hours of its launch, the company's CEO Mark Zuckerberg said. The app went live on Apple and Android app stores in 100 countries at 2300 GMT on Wednesday, and will run with...

BEIJING, CHINA - China said on Monday it would slap export controls on two rare metals essential for the manufacture of semiconductors over security concerns, as Beijing and Washington tussle over the global market for chips. Exports of gallium and germanium, of which China is a major producer, will require a...

WASHINGTON, US-  Google revealed seven new features to be added to Google Chat, a communication and collaboration tool, to enhance the user experience on the app. The upcoming additions include the integration of Gmail features, improved editing, quoting options, and the ability to include apps in personal conversations. One of...

Washington, United States - US economic growth came in at two percent in the first quarter this year, the Commerce Department said Thursday, making a significant upward revision to earlier estimates partly on stronger-than-expected consumer spending. While GDP growth in the world's biggest economy has still cooled from 2.6 percent in...

A senior US Federal Reserve official said that additional interest rate hikes are needed to tackle historically high inflation. "I believe that additional policy rate increases will be necessary to bring inflation down to our target over time," Fed governor Michelle Bowman told a conference in Cleveland, Ohio, according to...

US Securities and Exchange Commission did not specify how many of Binance's US customers are affected, nor the value represented by these funds. Earlier this month the SEC charged the crypto giant with securities law violations that it said amounted to "an extensive web of deception" and "calculated evasion of...

WASHINGTON, US - Consumer inflation in the United States cooled for an 11th straight month in May, the Labor Department said on Tuesday, in an encouraging sign for policymakers seeking to rein in price increases. The consumer price index (CPI), a key gauge of inflation, jumped 4.0 percent from a year...

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.

Russia is receiving materials from Iran to build a drone factory that "could be fully operational early next year," White House national security spokesman John Kirby warned. The White House released a satellite image of the location of the prospective plant in Alabuga special economic zone, some 900 kilometers east...

WASHINGTON, US -  The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance said it was halting US dollar deposits and encouraged clients to withdraw their dollars by early next week, following charges leveled by the government. The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday charged the crypto giant with securities law violations that it...