A Hong Kong pro-democracy politician who fled overseas is being investigated for national security crimes, police said Sunday, confirming they have frozen some of his bank accounts. The revelation comes as international banks in the semi-autonomous city become increasingly tangled up in...

The Istanbul Airport saw the highest number of flights in Europe from Nov. 28 to Dec. 4, according to the European Organization for Air Navigation Safety (EUROCONTROL) on Sunday. The airport saw 471 flights on Nov. 28, 542 flights on Nov. 29, and 496 flights on Nov. 30, according to...

The United Arab Emirates was the target of cyber attacks after establishing formal ties with Israel, the Gulf Arab state's cyber security head said on Sunday. The UAE in August broke with decades of Arab policy when it agreed to forge ties with Israel in a move that angered Palestinians and...

Kuwait's opposition took nearly half of parliament's seats in weekend polls amid calls for reforms over corruption and high debt, but the sole female lawmaker lost her seat. Twenty-four of the National Assembly's 50 seats were won by candidates belonging to or leaning towards the...

A new report on the Gaza Strip by a United Nations (UN) agency makes for sobering reading. The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reports that the economic cost to Gaza of the Israeli siege since 2007, along with a series of major military assaults, amounts to no less than...

Iran has instructed its oil ministry to prepare installations for production and sale of crude oil at full capacity within three months, state media said on Sunday, ahead of a possible easing of U.S. sanctions after President-elect Joe Biden takes office. They quoted President Hassan...

The US has welcomed the formation and the first Leadership Committee meeting of the Afghanistan High Council for National Reconciliation.  The peace body set up in late May has 45 members from across the Afghan political spectrum and is chaired by Abdullah Abdullah. It held its maiden...

Turkey supports a recent deal on the northern region of Sinjar in Iraq signed between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government, the Turkish Defense Ministry declared on Sunday. Speaking at a weekly press conference, spokeswoman Nadide Sebnem Aktop said Ankara...

The top U.S. Navy official in the Mideast said Sunday America has reached an "uneasy deterrence" with Iran after months of regional attacks and seizures at sea, even as tensions remain high between Washington and Tehran over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Vice Adm. Sam Paparo, who...

A prominent Saudi prince strongly criticized Israel on Sunday at a Bahrain security summit that was remotely attended by Israel's foreign minister. Prince Turki al-Faisal, who led Saudi intelligence for more than two decades and served as ambassador to the U.S. and Britain, warned that any...

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip may “let it be known” once they have received a vaccine against COVID-19, The Times newspaper reported, citing unnamed royal aides. The 94-year-old monarch and her 99-year-old spouse are likely to be among the first to be offered a...

South Korea raised its coronavirus alert to the second-highest level in Seoul and surrounding areas Sunday as authorities struggle to contain a fresh outbreak. The country largely brought the virus under control with a "trace, test and treat" approach, but in recent weeks new infections...

The UN said Saturday that at least 139 civilians have been killed or injured since October in western Yemen. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said 74 civilians were killed or wounded in October and 49 in November in Al Hudaydah province. And six workers...

The US has canceled five cultural exchange programs with China because Beijing uses them as propaganda tools. "While other programs funded under the auspices of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act (MECEA) are mutually beneficial, the five programs in question are fully funded...

A successful peace process with the Taliban will allow the government to focus its resources on countering the Islamic State group and its attacks on soft targets, Afghanistan's national security adviser said Saturday. Afghanistan is grappling with a surge in violence that has worsened...

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II will receive the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine within weeks, after UK regulators granted emergency approval and the world's first roll-out begins next week, reports late Saturday said. The monarch, 94, and her 99-year-old husband Prince Philip are in...

CADIZ, Spain- Barcelona conceded two embarrassing goals as they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat away to Cadiz in La Liga Saturday. The Catalans fell behind in the eighth minute when center-back Oscar Mingueza headed the ball towards his own goal and although keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen got...

Under-pressure Zinedine Zidane said Real Madrid's 1-0 win at Sevilla on Saturday, their first in La Liga since October, was significant after a testing run of games. Sevilla goalkeeper Bono guided Vinicius Junior's effort into his own net in the second half, allowing Zidane's side to...

Jailed Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul is accused of contacting "unfriendly" states and providing classified information, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister told AFP Saturday, after the campaigner's trial was transferred to a terrorism court. Hathloul, 31, was arrested in May 2018 with...

 The Iranian Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said on Saturday that the recent bill to increase nuclear enrichment "is not in contradiction with the [Iranian] national interests." Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had objected to the Strategic Act to Revoke Sanctions bill...