Algerian demonstrators Friday rejected a call for dialogue by the country's new president, insisting on a month-long protest movement's demands for sweeping reforms in the North African country. Huge crowds flooded the streets of Algiers on the 44th consecutive Friday of anti-government...

The head of Iraq's Chaldean Catholic Church said Friday there will be no Christmas Eve masses in Baghdad for security reasons as nearly three months of anti-government protests continue to rock the capital. "In light of the current sensitive security situation in Baghdad, the patriarchate...

A group of independent UN rights experts strongly criticised Tehran Friday, warning thousands could still be detained after a deadly crackdown on mass protests last month and voicing alarm at reports that inmates have been tortured. The UN expert on the rights situation in Iran, along with...

The Pentagon's top general said Wednesday the US military is ready for anything from North Korea in the face of Pyongyang's ominous promise of a "Christmas gift" if Washington does not act to ease tensions. "Korea is one of those places in the world where we've always maintained high levels...

Cancelled trains, packed roads, frazzled nerves: Travellers across France scrambled on Friday to begin Christmas vacations upended by a weeks-long transport strike over a pensions overhaul that unions have vowed to defeat. Hopes of a holiday truce were dashed after talks between the...

U.K. lawmakers on Friday passed the revised Brexit bill which paves the way for withdrawal from the EU by January 31. In a 358 to 234 vote Friday afternoon, the House of Commons passed the Withdrawal Agreement Bill to committee stage which will continue after the Christmas recess. The...

Crowds continued to gather in Tahrir Square in the Iraqi capital early Friday to protest against the failure of President Barham Saleh and Parliament Speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi to appoint a new premier following Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi’s resignation.  According to the Iraqi...

Turkey’s president on Friday blasted the threat of U.S. sanctions on Turkish companies involved in a pipeline project as a “violation of our rights.” “Now they say ‘we will impose sanctions on TurkStream’,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Malaysia, where he attended this week’s Kuala...

The Presidential Council of Libya’s UN-backed government condemned Friday an airstrike by foreign forces supporting commander Khalifa Haftar. On Thursday, the Government of National Accord (GNA) announced that an airstrike by foreign forces targeted the western city of Misrata, leaving...

Iran on Friday called US foreign policy "delusional" and its chief diplomat a "loudspeaker for bullying, deceit and disdain", a day after Washington announced new sanctions against Tehran. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, announcing the measures against two Iranian judges on Thursday, said...

Lebanon's new prime minister-designate,Hassan Diab, said in an interview with Deutsche Welle aired Friday that he expected full European and US support for his government. He rejected suggestions that the support his nomination received from Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which is...

More than a thousand women have taken the feminist anthem "A Rapist In Your Way" into the streets of Chile's capital Santiago, performing the rallying cry sung in cities across the globe. Created by Chilean feminist collective Las Tesis and first performed last month, the song slams...

Tens of thousands of Saudis have flocked to an electronic music festival billed by organisers as the biggest in the ultra-conservative kingdom since it began easing decades-old restrictions on entertainment. Dutch DJ Tiesto, South Africa's Black Coffee and France's David Guetta are among...

Violent winds and torrential rain battered Spain, Portugal and France overnight leaving at least four people dead, rescuers said Friday, as the region braced for the arrival of another storm. In Portugal, one man died in a road accident caused by a falling tree 50 kilometres (30 miles)...

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is hopeful Virgil van Dijk will be fit to play in Saturday's Club World Cup final against Flamengo after the Dutchman missed their semi-final. "Virgil was part of training today so we will see how it looks at the end," Klopp said at a press conference at the...

Iraq's top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani called Friday for early elections to end the months of political paralysis that have gripped the protest-hit country. "The quickest and most peaceful way out of the current crisis and to avoid plunging into the unknown, chaos or internal...

Russian media on Friday identified the man who opened fire near the headquarters of the security service in central Moscow, killing one and wounding five, as a 39-year-old from a nearby town. There has been no official confirmation of the identity of the attacker shot by security forces...

Boeing is set to launch its Starliner capsule Friday on a crewless eight-day journey to the International Space Station and back, a dry run for NASA's plans to end US dependence on Russia for space rides. The reputational stakes are high for the aerospace giant, which is in the midst of...

Fresh clashes between Indian police and demonstrators erupted on Friday after more than a week of deadly unrest triggered by a citizenship law seen as anti-Muslim. Three protesters were shot dead on Thursday, taking the death toll to nine in the wave of anger that is emerging as a major...

Macau on Friday celebrated 20 years since the former Portuguese colony was returned to China with President Xi Jinping praising the pliant gambling hub for its patriotism, a stark contrast to protest-ravaged Hong Kong. The day's festivities centred around the inauguration of a new...