Military and civilian members of Sudan's new ruling body, the Sovereign Council, were sworn in Wednesday at the presidential palace in Khartoum, state news agency SUNA said. The 11-member Council replaces the now-defunct Transitional Military Council, the head of which, General Abdel Fattah...

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Wednesday Tehran may act "unpredictably" in response to the United States' "unpredictable" policies under U.S. President Donald Trump. Tensions between Tehran and Washington have risen since President Trump’s administration last year quit...

The leader of southern Yemeni separatists has arrived in Saudi Arabia for talks aimed at ending a standoff in Aden port between the separatists and Yemen's Saudi-backed government, who had been nominal allies under the Arab coalition. Saudi Arabia, the coalition leader, called for a summit...

After Egypt's president appointed top judges for the first time in the country's modern history, criticism of the judiciary's lack of independence is rampant. Last month, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi installed the heads of the Supreme Constitutional Court, the Court of Cassation and the...

Japan has upgraded its estimate of North Korea’s nuclear weapons capability in an upcoming annual Defence White Paper, saying it seems Pyongyang has achieved the miniaturization of warheads, the Yomiuri newspaper said in an unsourced report on Wednesday. That compares with the assessment in...

The death toll from a suicide bomb attack on a wedding reception in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, has risen to 80, two senior officials said on Wednesday. The initial death toll after the Saturday night blast was 63, but some of the wounded had died in hospital, said Nasrat Rahimi, a...

A major bank warned on Wednesday that weeks of protests in Hong Kong could hit the economies of the Chinese-ruled city and mainland China itself as demonstrators prepared a sit-in at a subway and site of a mid-summer mob attack. Hong Kong-based Bank of East Asia Ltd (BEA) posted a 75% slump...

Tunisia’s moderate Islamists are hoping the genial Beethoven fan they have nominated to run in next month’s presidential elections will break the mould in the Arab world by turning success at the ballot box into uncontested rule. Abdelfattah Mourou is a lawyer who has distanced himself from...

Iran’s semi-official ILNA news agency said on Wednesday the Adrian Darya 1 tanker, which was released after being detained in Gibraltar, is currently leased to an Iranian shipping company. The United States has issued a warrant to seize the tanker on the grounds that it had links to the...

Yemen’s Houthi rebel group claimed Tuesday to have downed a U.S. drone in Dhamar governorate, located southeast of the capital. Houthi spokesman Yahia Sarie said the MQ-9 type drone was shot down with a locally developed missile which will be introduced to the public “soon,” according to...

The Sudanese Forces for Freedom and Change coalition (FFC), on Tuesday, submitted its final list of candidates to the Sudanese Transitional Military Council (TMC) for the Sovereign Council which will lead the country during the coming transitional period.  An FFC leader Satii Al-Haj...

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits Berlin Wednesday to kick off a marathon of tense talks with key European and international leaders as the threat of a chaotic no-deal Brexit looms. On his first foreign visit since taking office, he will seek to convince German Chancellor Angela...

Australia will join the United States in a coalition of countries protecting oil tankers and cargo ships from threats posed by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday. Global commodity trading has been rocked in recent months after a series of attacks on...

US President Donald Trump and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday that talks between senior officials were underway, as the South American country struggles under the weight of US sanctions. "We are in touch. We're talking to various representatives of Venezuela," Trump...

The latest lurches in President Donald Trump's trade war with China set the stage for a potential repeat of late 2018 when goods flooded into America's ports to beat new tariffs. US importers, retailers and shippers are bracing for a new round of punitive duties on Chinese goods set to hit...

A suspected militant and a policeman were killed in the first gun battle since New Delhi stripped Indian Kashmir of its autonomy, police said Wednesday after US President Donald Trump offered to mediate the "explosive" situation. In a further sign of rising tensions, Pakistan said meanwhile...

The family of a missing employee of Britain's consulate in Hong Kong said Wednesday that authorities told them he was detained while returning from a business trip but do not know why, where or how long he will be held. The consulate has refused to name the man or give details about the...

Italy’s League leader Matteo Salvini said on Tuesday he was ready to keep the coalition government alive to approve a 2020 budget and vote in a reform of parliament before heading to early elections. Salvini, who serves as deputy prime minister, has presented a motion of no confidence in...

New York state, New York City, Connecticut and Vermont sued the federal government Tuesday over new Trump administration rules blocking green cards for many immigrants who use public assistance including Medicaid, food stamps and housing vouchers. The states and city join a growing list of...

About a thousand police officers launched raids Tuesday in Germany, Lithuania and Croatia as part of a cybercrime investigation into a website that provided details on how to produce explosives and synthetic drugs. Police in the central German city of Goettingen coordinated the raids, which...