Two oil-rich Arab Gulf states suffered severe economic blows Wednesday, as a major credit agency downgraded Kuwait for the first time and the United Arab Emirates acknowledged its economy would contract to a level last seen in 2009. The agency, Moody’s Investors Service, cut Kuwait’s...

The bomb threat for Paris’ iconic Eiffel Tower turned out to be a false alarm, a police official told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.  The official, who asked not to be named, said the historic landmark of French capital reopened for visitors under security measures.  Eiffel...

Throughout the past nine years of conflict, the Syrian military has been instrumental in ensuring the survival of the Bashar al-Assad regime—not because of its performance on the battlefield, but rather due to its consistent loyalty. Unlike other state militaries that faced regime challenges...

President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus was sworn in for a new term Wednesday in an inauguration denounced as illegitimate by the opposition, which called for more protests against his 26-year rule. The sudden ceremony, which would normally be publicised as a major state occasion but was...