A major Lebanese business group called on Monday for a three-day general strike to press divided politicians to form a government and end a crisis that has brought the economy to a standstill. Lebanon has faced five weeks of protests, fueled by anger at corruption among sectarian...

Yemen is now grappling with an epidemic of dengue fever, adding to its woes of war and cholera, the Red Cross said Monday. While U.N. officials recently said the intensity of the war has eased, Yemen still faces a very dire humanitarian situation, said Robert Mardini, head of the...

Hundreds of Sudanese women Monday marched in Khartoum to mark International Day for Eliminating Violence against Women, in the first such rally held in the northeast African country in decades. Chanting "Freedom, peace, justice," the catchcry of the protest movement that led to autocrat...

At least 146 demonstrators were killed across Iran since leaders ordered security forces to stamp out protests that followed fuel price rises on Nov. 15, Amnesty International said Monday. "According to credible reports ... those killed include at least 143 people," said the London-based...

An Egyptian Coptic rights activist is facing charges of joining a "terror" group and spreading misinformation, his lawyer confirmed Monday, amid a renewed crackdown on dissidents in the country. Ramy Kamel was arrested from his Cairo home early Saturday by seven plainclothes police...

Saudi Arabia has detained at least nine people including academics and writers in the latest in a series of public crackdowns over the past two years, campaigners said on Monday. Journalists, bloggers and activists were among the nine arrested in a crackdown that began on November 16,...

Clashes broke out between anti-government demonstrators and supporters of the Shi’ite groups Hezbollah and Amal in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, early on Monday, as tensions escalated when demonstrators blocked a main bridge. Lebanon has faced five weeks of anti-government protests, fueled...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Monday ordered a firing drill on the western frontier bordering South Korea, state media reported triggering criticism from Seoul. During his inspection of a front-line military unit on Changrin island north of the western sea border with South Korea, Kim...

India’s information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Monday Apple Inc would expand its operations in the country and the iPhone maker’s supplier Salcomp would make components at a plant near Chennai in southern India. Salcomp will invest 20 billion rupees ($278.67 million)...

Iraq on Monday reopened al-Shib border crossing with Iran after a 9-day closure, the Iraqi Border Ports Commission said. In a statement, the commission said the terminal was open to travellers from Iraq to Iran. The border crossing was closed on Nov. 16 upon a request from Tehran due to...

Turkey is fully abiding by the agreements it reached with Russia and the United States regarding northeast Syria and is not resuming its military offensive, a security source said on Monday. Ankara reached separate agreements with Moscow and Washington last month to remove the Kurdish YPG...

A pro-government rally planned in Tehran Monday will show the world who the "real" Iranians are, Iran's Foreign Ministry said, voicing surprise over foreign statements of support for protesters angered by a decision to hike gasoline prices. The protests grew into a wave of anti-government...

France on Monday announced new measures to combat violence against women by their partners or ex-partners, seeking to toughen up the law as concern grows over the number of femicide murders in the country. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe made the announcements on the UN-backed International...

Israel was set to expel the country director of Human Rights Watch on Monday after a lengthy court battle over claims he supports a boycott of the Jewish state. US citizen Omar Shakir, the New York-based rights group's director for Israel and the Palestinian territories, denies the claims...

Residents in DR Congo's volatile city of Beni set fire to the local town hall and accused US peacekeepers of inaction after eight civilians were killed overnight in a militant attack, an AFP reporter said.  Army spokesman Colonel Mak Hazukai confirmed the latest casualties in the city,...

At only 18, Iman Abbas has overcome suffering that would break many -- the Yazidi was repeatedly sold as a "slave" by jihadists but escaped to become an award-winning advocate for fellow survivors. "Because of what I've been through, I don't consider myself a teenager," the softly-spoken...

Iran on Monday rejected a US court order for Tehran to pay $180 million in damages to a Washington Post reporter for jailing him on espionage charges. Jason Rezaian spent 544 days in an Iranian prison before he was released in January 2016 in exchange for seven Iranians held in the United...

Hong Kong's democrats scored a landslide majority in district council elections, which saw a record turnout after six months of anti-government protests, increasing pressure on the Chinese-ruled city's leader Monday to listen to calls for democracy. Sunday's elections marked a rare weekend...

The watch towers, double-locked doors and video surveillance in the Chinese camps are there “to prevent escapes.” Uighurs and other minorities held inside are scored on how well they speak the dominant Mandarin language and follow strict rules on everything down to bathing and using the toilet,...

Hong Kong residents turned out in huge numbers on Sunday to vote in district council elections seen as a test of support for chief executive Carrie Lam following six months of pro-democracy protests, and polling took place with no major disruptions. Electoral affairs chief Barnabus Fung...