U.S. President Donald Trump issued a formal threat on Wednesday to veto congressional efforts to block his plans for $23 billion in military sales to the United Arab Emirates. The Senate is due to vote on resolutions of disapproval of the sales later on Wednesday. In its policy...

Germany was battling a second virus wave much more deadly than the first on Wednesday with record fatalities, as Joe Biden pledged to inoculate 100 million people in his first 100 days as US president. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is urging regions to take much more drastic action to...

A pro-regime industrialist submitted a proposal to expand pig farming in Syria, as a move to reinvigorate the regime’s treasury, with the unprecedented economic crisis continuing to spiral. Industrialist Atef Tayfour said that regime officials should establish pens for raising and...

President Tayyip Erdogan said he would discuss strained U.S. relations with President-elect Joe Biden when he takes office, playing down the possibility of sanctions over Turkey’s purchase of Russian missile defence systems. Bilateral ties have been hit by Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400...

President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday seeks his cabinet's blessing for draft legislation combatting "radical Islamism" after a spate of attacks, which critics fear risks targeting all Muslims. Macron argues the legislation is needed to shore up France's staunchly secular system but the...

Although the OPEC+ group's decision last week to increase crude oil production by approximately 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) every month starting from January is contrary to market expectations, it will keep oil prices in a range between $40 and $50 in the first quarter of 2021, experts said...

A senior U.S. envoy on Wednesday said the trust and alliance between Washington and Seoul will remain firm regardless of the upcoming change in administrations, South Korea’s foreign ministry said. The remarks came as the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, who helped lead...

Israeli forces kill children using deadly weapons while suppressing Palestinian demonstrations, according to a non-governmental organization.  Defense for Children International Palestine (DCIP) documented that the Israeli military uses Ruger 10/22 rifles and some children have been...

A report by the UN refugee agency estimated that global forced displacement surpassed 80 million at mid-year, noting that the full picture for 2020 is not yet established. “With forced displacement doubling in the last decade, the international community is failing to safeguard peace,” said...

Prime Minister Boris Johnson headed to Brussels on Wednesday, with hopes for a post-Brexit trade deal hanging on crisis talks with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen. Johnson's dash back to the city where he made his name as an EU-bashing newspaper reporter marks the last chance of a...

A leading rival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the right-wing Likud party announced his resignation from parliament Wednesday as he launches a new party to challenge the premier. Gideon Saar, an influential figure in conservative Israeli politics, had challenged Netanyahu...

Two oil wells were bombed inside a small oilfield on Wednesday but production was not affected, oil officials and security sources said. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the bombings at Khabbaz oilfield, 20 km (12 miles) southwest of Kirkuk, the sources said. Technical...

China has tested more than a quarter of a million people for the coronavirus after a handful of new cases were detected in the southern city of Chengdu. An elderly couple were diagnosed as confirmed cases on Monday, and authorities have been tracing their close contacts and testing food...

Residents of Egypt's restive North Sinai region ran for their lives when an Islamic State group affiliate occupied their villages. Now, they are returning to find their homes booby-trapped. "I lost my sister-in-law and her nine-month-old baby when an explosive device planted in their home...

Europe's latest jihadist attacks may have targeted France and Austria, but Spain, like the rest of the continent, remains within the sights of extremists and the threat level is still "severe", experts say. The issue has returned to the headlines in Spain since last month, with three men...

After three days of decline, Italy reported a rise in both coronavirus infections and deaths on Tuesday. According to latest Health Ministry data, daily fatalities stood at 634, up from 528 on Monday, and raised the nationwide death toll to 61,240 – the highest in Europe after the UK....

Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton said he has suffered "one of the hardest weeks for some time" after testing positive for coronavirus but is hopeful of driving in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The 35-year-old Briton missed last Sunday's penultimate round in Bahrain after...

Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla said Tuesday he understands concerns around the speed at which pharmaceutical companies have produced Covid-19 vaccines, but insisted that no corners had been cut. As Britain on Tuesday became the first Western country to start a mass coronavirus vaccine...

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) yesterday appealed for a record $2.5 billion in urgent funding to provide life-saving aid to 39 million children in the Middle East and North Africa during 2021. UNICEF said in a statement that the amount "includes an increase of nearly US$ 500...

 Turkey on Tuesday condemned the interception of one of its ships by eastern-based Libyan forces in the Mediterranean, saying it must be allowed to resume its journey to western Libya and warning of possible reprisal. Khalifa Haftar’s eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) said on...