Bahrain's Prince Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, the world's longest-serving prime minister who had held the post since independence in 1971, died Wednesday at the age of 84, state media announced. "The Royal Court mourns His Royal Highness... who passed away this morning at Mayo Clinic...

China’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday urged the United States to stop elevating ties with Taiwan, after Washington and Taipei announced they would hold economic talks this month. Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin made the comment at a daily news briefing in Beijing. China considers...

Hong Kong stripped four pro-democracy lawmakers of their seats Wednesday, immediately after China gave the city the power to disqualify politicians deemed a threat to national security. The ousting comes after 19 pro-democracy lawmakers in the semi-autonomous city's legislature threatened...

Vowing "to get right to work," President-elect Joe Biden shrugged off President Donald Trump's fierce refusal to accept the election outcome as "inconsequential," even as Democrats elsewhere warned that the Republican president's actions were dangerous. Raising unsupported claims of voter...

Russian peacekeeping troops deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday under a deal that halted six weeks of fighting between Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces, and froze territorial gains by Azerbaijan. The agreement ended military action and restored relative calm to the breakaway territory,...

Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo is available to face Andorra in a friendly later this week despite suffering an ankle injury in the weekend's draw at Lazio, Portugal coach Fernando Santos said on Tuesday. Ronaldo, 35, who limped off with 15 minutes to play of Sunday's fixture in Rome, could...

The United States on Tuesday imposed Iran-related sanctions on six companies and four people, accusing the network of supplying sensitive goods to an Iranian military firm in the Trump administration’s latest move to increase pressure on Tehran. The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement...

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Tuesday announced a seven-nation tour of US allies, which have congratulated President-elect Joe Biden despite Donald Trump's refusal to concede. Pompeo said he will leave Friday for Paris and then head to Istanbul and the former Soviet republic of Georgia...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday he made no distinction between Democrats and Republicans and intended to stand up for Israel’s interests in the face of a new American administration. The Israeli leader has been trying to sound a message of bipartisanship since...

The Hezbollah member convicted of the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri should receive a life sentence, even though he remains at large, prosecutors said Tuesday. Salim Ayyash was found guilty in absentia of murder by a UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon in the...

President Donald Trump will push ahead Tuesday with longshot legal challenges to his loss to Democratic President-elect Joe Biden in last week's election, as Republican officials at the state and federal level lined up behind him. Pennsylvania Republican state lawmakers plan to call for an...

Polls that misjudged the outcome of Australia's 2019 election were likely caused by surveys overrepresenting educated voters, an industry inquiry reported Wednesday, a finding that could resonate with beleaguered pollsters worldwide. They had strongly tipped centre-left Labor to win last...

Russian peacekeeping troops deployed to the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday as part of a ceasefire deal to end six weeks of heavy fighting between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces. Under the deal, Azerbaijan will keep territorial gains made in the fighting, including...

The United States and the European Union need to forge a new transatlantic alliance in areas such as climate change and the digital economy under president-elect Joe Biden, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday. Europe, she said, should take the initiative, with...

Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL] plans to sell its budget-brand Honor smartphone unit in a 100 billion yuan ($15.14 billion) deal after years of pressure from U.S. trade curbs made on grounds that the technology firm is a national security threat. The world’s biggest maker of mobile...

Hugely promising results from a coronavirus vaccine trial fuelled optimism around the world Tuesday that humanity may be a step closer to defeating the worst pandemic in a century. Some of the industries hit hardest by travel curbs, social distancing and lockdowns rebounded on hopes that...

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared a three-day mourning period for Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator who died on Tuesday after contracting COVID-19. "The departure of a brother and a friend, of the great fighter, Dr. Saeb Erekat, is a great loss for Palestine and our...

 Saudi Arabia's economy shrank 4.2 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, government data showed on Tuesday, a smaller contraction than the second quarter when the economy was reeling from coronavirus-linked lockdowns. The economy expanded by 1.2 percent on a...

Jordanians voted Tuesday in a parliamentary election overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic which has dealt a heavy blow to the Arab country's already debt-ridden economy. More than 50,000 security force personnel were on hand to ensure masks were worn inside polling stations and social...

Turkey on Tuesday marked the 82nd anniversary of the demise of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the leader of the country's war of independence and founder of the Turkish Republic.  As is customary, daily life stopped at 9.05 a.m. local time (0605GMT), sirens wailed to mark the exact moment of...