(Reuters) - A court on Wednesday ordered the closure of Russia's Memorial Human Rights Centre, a day after its sister organisation and the country's oldest human rights group was ordered to disband by the Supreme Court. State prosecutors had accused both organisations of breaking a law...

 After years of looking abroad for answers, countries in the Middle East now appear to instead be talking to each other to find solutions following two decades defined by war and political upheaval. The American withdrawals from Afghanistan and Iraq have played a part in that change....

Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Stand News online media outlet says it is ceasing operations following a police raid and arrests of current and former editors and board members. The outlet issued a statement Wednesday saying its website and social media are no longer being updated and will be...

A total of 116 cities in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia were in a state of emergency because of flooding on Tuesday due to heavy rains that have been pounding the region since the end of November. Cities in at least five other states in Brazil's north and southeast have also been...

CAIRO (AP) — Sudanese authorities said at least 38 people were killed Tuesday when a defunct gold mine collapsed in West Kordofan province. The country’s state-run mining company said in a statement the collapse of the closed, non-functioning mine took place in the village of Fuja 700...

  Lebanon’s energy minister launched two projects in the country’s north on Tuesday to facilitate the flow of natural gas from Egypt. The move aims to improve electricity production and expand the country’s tanks to increase oil reserves. The revival of the Arab Gas Pipeline to deliver...

 Fires erupted in Latakia Port's container storage area following an Israeli missile attack, state-run media reported on Tuesday. The attack, the second in December, damaged facades of a hospital, some residential buildings and shops "The Israeli "aggression" caused big...

France will not impose any curfews on New Year’s Eve, allowing people to celebrate freely, but will tighten restrictions on unvaccinated people entering public places starting in mid-January, the country’s premier announced on Monday. In a national address, following an emergency health...

NATO's "targeted provocations" near Russia’s borders are highly likely to escalate into an armed conflict, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said Monday.  NATO’s expansion eastward dates back to the time when Russia had good relations with the alliance, Fomin said at a...

  Israeli missiles fired from the Mediterranean struck the port of Latakia early Tuesday, igniting a fire in the container terminal, Syrian state media reported, in the second such attack on the vital facility this month. It is also a rare targeting of the port handling most imports for...

Lebanon’s president called Monday for an end to an 11-week deadlock that has prevented the government from convening, further undermining state institutions in the country amid an economic meltdown. President Michel Aoun implicitly blamed his powerful ally Hezbollah for preventing the...

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Monday that Israel’s plans to double the number of settlers living in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights are “dangerous and unprecedented” and only perpetuate its occupation of the territory. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Sunday a...

After struggling with the coronavirus for far too long, the world understands all too well Belgium's word of the year, “knaldrang!” — the urge to party, the need to let loose. Yet as New Year celebrations approach, the omicron variant is casting more gloom. Several countries are considering...

French investigators said Monday they have detained a man suspected of supplying authorities in Syria with materials that can be used in the production of chemical weapons. The dual French-Syrian national was arrested in the south of France while vacationing with his family and is being held...

Three civilians were injured Monday in Russian airstrikes targeting displaced camps in Jabal al-Zawiya region, south of Idlib province.   Zaman al-Wasl correspondent said that three civilians were wounded, as a result of the Russian warplanes carrying out four air raids targeting a...

Peter Parker’s good fortune continued over the holiday weekend as Hollywood prepares to close the books on a turbulent 2021. Even with some mighty competition from new Matrix and Sing movies, and rising concerns over the omicron variant, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” stayed in the No. 1 spot and...

At least 47 people lost their lives in the massive floods in Malaysia as of Sunday, according to local media. Many regions in the country were flooded due to heavy rains that were effective for three days from Dec.17, the Asian News International said. Police officials reported that the...

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Sunday the country intends to double the amount of settlers living in the occupied Golan Heights with a multimillion-dollar plan meant to further consolidate Israel’s hold on the territory it captured from Syria more than five decades ago. Speaking...

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — The bodies of 16 Iraqi Kurdish migrants who drowned last month as they attempted to cross the English Channel were repatriated to northern Iraq on Sunday. The Nov. 24 disaster, in which 27 migrants died, has been described as the worst on record involving migrants trying...

PARIS (AP) — France has recorded more than 100,000 virus infections in a single day for the first time in the pandemic and COVID-19 hospitalizations have doubled over the past month, as the fast-spreading omicron variant complicates the French government’s efforts to stave off a new lockdown....