Sudan Thursday ordered the closure of its borders with Libya and Central African Republic over security concerns, the country's ruling body announced, the first such decision since the fall of autocrat Omar al-Bashir. The decision was taken by the civilian-military sovereign council at a...

 Iran has started using advanced models of centrifuges to enrich uranium, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog said Thursday, in a new breach of the faltering 2015 deal with world powers. Advanced centrifuges at Iran's Natanz facility "were accumulating, or had been prepared to accumulate,...

Norway does not plan to block China’s Huawei Technologies from building the country’s 5G telecoms network, cabinet minister Nikolai Astrup told Reuters, a decision that puts it at odds with NATO ally the United States. The United States has alleged Huawei’s equipment could be used by...

Britain’s Princess Beatrice, the elder daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, announced her engagement on Thursday to property developer, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. “Her Royal Highness and Mr. Mapelli Mozzi became engaged while away for the weekend in Italy earlier this month,”...

Libya’s Mitiga international airport in the capital Tripoli was hit by an airstrike on Thursday. The aircrafts that targeted the airport were believed to be loyal to Gen. Khalifa Haftar, eye witnesses told Anadolu Agency. The airstrike came after few hours of another two airstrikes on...

Palestinian Hamas group announced Thursday its approval for an initiative launched by eight Palestinian factions last week to end the internal Palestinian division.  Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a news conference in Gaza that his movement put its unconditional approval on the...

Iran's supreme leader accused European governments of "hostility" Thursday, saying their actions showed they cannot be trusted. "The Europeans present themselves as mediators and say many things, but they are all hollow," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement on his official website....

Liverpool Football Club's controversial bid to trademark the word "Liverpool" has been rejected by the British government's Intellectual Property Office. The Premier League club said their sole aim had been to protect themselves against mass-produced Liverpool FC merchandise and had hoped...

Britain's parliamentary speaker John Bercow told lawmakers Thursday to stop treating each other as enemies after a day when several criticized the rhetoric of Prime Minister Boris Johnson for deepening division in the country. "Yesterday the House [of Commons] did itself no credit. There...

An Emirati has made history as the first Arab to reach the International Space Station, after blasting off from Kazakhstan. The Russian spacecraft carrying Hazzaa al-Mansoori of the United Arab Emirates, who was accompanied by Russia’s Oleg Skripochka and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, docked...

European aerospace giant Airbus has been hit by a series of attacks by hackers who targeted its suppliers in their search for commercial secrets, security sources told AFP, adding they suspected a China link. There have been four major attacks on Airbus in the last 12 months, according to...

The United States and China have pledged "full cooperation" to fight fentanyl trafficking, a powerful opioid that has killed tens of thousands of Americans, the US "drug czar" said Thursday. US President Donald Trump accused Beijing in August of reneging on its promise to crack down on the...

Afghans go to the polls Saturday to vote in a presidential election that few expect will have much effect in bringing peace to the war-torn country. With the Taliban threatening violence against anyone who participates, and concern that the widespread fraud which blighted previous elections...

Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar, whose forces have been battling to capture the seat of the UN-recognised government in Tripoli since April, has said he is open to dialogue after repeatedly rejecting UN calls for talks. "When all is said and done, we need dialogue and we need to sit down"...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched into what could prove to be an impossible mission to form a new government Thursday after the president tasked him with doing so following deadlocked elections. The mandate from President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday night gave Netanyahu a...

Former French President Jacques Chirac, a major force in French politics who opposed the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, died in Paris on Thursday at the age of 86. A seasoned politician, Chirac’s career included two presidential terms, two stints as prime minister and nearly two decades as...

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam will hold her first talks with the public on Thursday in a bid to resolve a political crisis that has fueled nearly four months of sometimes violent protests and plunged the Chinese-run city into chaos. Beijing-backed Lam will hold a dialogue with 150 members of...

Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said over 70 flights are scheduled for Thursday to bring back 16,000 people to the country following the collapse of Thomas Cook. The authority also said over 150 Thomas Cook crew and 30% of the total number of passengers, in the first three days of...

 A large fire broke out in the early hours of Thursday at a French factory in the northern port city of Rouen, local authorities said. Authorities added there were no reported victims at this stage. The fire at the factory of Lubrizol - a company that makes specialty chemicals - had...

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said he bears responsibility for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year by Saudi operatives “because it happened under my watch,” according to a PBS documentary to be broadcast next week. Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, has not...