National Commercial Bank and Riyad Bank are seeking advisers for a potential merger that would create the Gulf region’s third-biggest lender with $182 billion in assets, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The banks have sent out so-called request for proposals to firms including...

Around 7,000 civilians were killed in attacks across war-torn Syria in 2018, according to a human rights group on Wednesday.  In a statement, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said the victims included 1,436 children and 1,361 women.  The NGO said regime forces were...

Streaming giant Netflix faced criticism Wednesday for its decision to remove an episode of a comedy show in Saudi Arabia that satirized Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The episode of Hasan Minhaj's Patriot Act lambasts bin Salman, arguing original praise heaped on the Saudi leader was...

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he expects to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for a second time as Washington continues to seek the North’s denuclearization. Trump said he recently received a "great" letter from Kim Jong-un, claiming the U.S. has "made a lot of progress"...

A senior official in Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) on Wednesday condemned alleged calls by Sudan’s National Front for Change (NFC) for a “coup” against the regime of President Omar al-Bashir. At a press conference organized by political parties on Wednesday, NCP Political...

 U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States would get out of Syria slowly “over a period of time” and would protect the U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in the country as Washington draws down troops. Trump did not provide a timetable for the planned military exit...

 Dark skies were threatening rain over an Iraqi Kurdistan village, but one woman refused to budge from outside a house where two girls were at risk of female genital mutilation. “I know you’re home! I just want to talk,” Kurdistan Rasul, 35, called out, a pink headscarf forming a sort of...

Turkey's state-run news agency says police have detained 12 suspected Daesh (ISIS) militants, including two women who are wanted in France. Anadolu Agency reported Wednesday that the suspects were detained during police raids in the northwestern province of Bursa earlier this week. The...

The former head of German exchange operator Deutsche Boerse has agreed to pay 4.75 million euros ($5.4 million) to end a probe into suspected insider trading, prosecutors said Wednesday. Frankfurt prosecutors opened the case against Carsten Kengeter in 2016 over his purchases of shares...

The Syrian regime said Wednesday hundreds of Kurdish fighters had withdrawn from Manbij near the border with Turkey, days after the Kurds appealed to Damascus for support against a threatened Turkish offensive. "A convoy of units of Kurdish fighters comprised of more than 30 vehicles...

Patrick Shanahan, the acting US defense secretary, started his first full day at the Pentagon's helm Wednesday by telling colleagues he sees China as a key priority. Shanahan, who took the top spot January 1 after Jim Mattis resigned amid disagreements with President Donald Trump, told...

Somalia's government has ordered the United Nations envoy to the country to leave, amid questions over the arrest of the Al-Shabab militant group's former deputy leader who had run for a regional presidency. A Foreign Ministry statement late Tuesday accuses Nicholas Haysom of diplomatic...

Saudi Arabia announced plans Wednesday to build an entertainment complex in the capital Riyadh, the latest in a series of state-backed efforts to encourage public leisure activities after decades of tight social restrictions. The 100,000 square metre complex will be developed by the...

Britain is failing victims of forced marriage, campaigners said Wednesday, after the government pledged to investigate reports women were being charged to be rescued. An investigation by Britain's Times newspaper found adult victims were being made to pay for emergency repatriation,...

Two women defied a centuries-old ban on entering a Hindu temple in the Indian state of Kerala Wednesday, sparking rowdy protests and calls for a strike by conservative Hindu groups outraged by their visit. Police fired teargas and used water cannons to disperse a large crowd of...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- The Syrian regime is preparing to embezzle not dozens, but hundreds of the "promised" billions of dollars, the United States, for the first time, declares through its President that Saudi Arabia provided the "funds for the reconstruction of Syria" ...  revealed a close-up...

The Central Bank of Sudan said Tuesday that new banknotes will be released this month as the country grapples with a severe economic crisis and cash shortage. “With an aim to resolve the banknote issue gradually, [Sudanese pound] banknotes of 100 ($2.10), 200 ($4.20) and 500 ($10.51)...

The Iraqi Defense Ministry has appointed a new security chief for the northern Kirkuk province, a ministry official said Tuesday.  Speaking to Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity, the official said that Haidar al-Obeidi, a brigadier-general in Iraq’s elite anti-terrorism...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Heavy clashes reported Tuesday between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its former affiliate Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zinki west of Aleppo province, leaving ten civilians killed.  Former al-Qaeda branch has launched major attack on the stronghold of the Nour al-Din al-Zinki...

The Sudanese National Front for Change (NFC) and the Umma Party have both announced their intention to submit a memorandum to President Omar al-Bashir demanding the appointment of a “transitional council” to temporarily run the country’s affairs.  The announcement was made at a...