A US-backed Kurdish force in northeast Syria handed over 100 alleged Islamic State (IS) group fighters to Baghdad this week, a senior Iraqi security source told AFP on Sunday. The Iraqi fighters were being interrogated before being transferred to the judiciary, the source said....

Lebanon Sunday gave its first Covid-19 vaccine dose to a doctor, as it started an inoculation drive it hopes will keep the pandemic in check amid deepening economic crisis. Mahmoud Hassoun, the head of the intensive care unit at the key Rafik Hariri Hospital battling coronavirus, was...

At least 100 oil and gas tankers have been destroyed by fire in a "catastrophe" at Afghanistan's biggest trade crossing with Iran, causing millions of dollars of losses, officials said Sunday. The huge blaze, which broke out Saturday afternoon at Islam Qala port 120 kilometres (75 miles)...

Simona Halep exacted revenge on French Open champion Iga Swiatek with a comeback three-set victory Sunday, setting up a blockbuster quarter-final with Serena Williams at the Australian Open. The world number two was thrashed by the 19-year-old at Roland Garros, winning just three games,...

The UAE's "Hope" probe sent back its first image of Mars, the national space agency said Sunday, days after the spacecraft successfully entered the Red Planet's orbit. The picture "captured the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons, emerging into the early morning sunlight,"...

Dozens were killed in overnight clashes in Yemen as Iran-backed Huthi rebels intensified attacks to seize the government's last northern stronghold, officials said Sunday. Earlier this month, the Huthis resumed an offensive to seize oil-rich Marib, some 120 kilometres (75 miles) east of...

Saudi Arabia on Sunday extended precautionary measures against the coronavirus pandemic for additional 20 days, in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. The extension of the restrictions will be effective as of Sunday 10:00 pm (19:00 GMT), the Saudi Interior Ministry said in a...

KAYA, Burkina Faso (AP) — A 20-year-old woman could no longer live in her village amid the rising violence caused by Islamic extremists. But she needed to return and retrieve the family's cows in hopes of selling them. If her husband went, jihadists would almost certainly kill him. She went...

India is gifting 2,000 metric tonnes of rice to Syria following a request from the Arab republic, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday. The first consignment of 1,000 metric tonnes of rice was handed over by Indian ambassador to Syria Hifzur Rahman to Syrian Minister of Local...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump was acquitted Saturday of inciting the horrific attack on the U.S. Capitol, concluding a historic impeachment trial that spared him the first-ever conviction of a U.S. president but exposed the fragility of America’s democratic traditions and left a divided nation...

A record 12.4 million people in war-torn Syria are struggling to find enough food to eat, the UN food agency has said, in an increase it described as "alarming". The figure means "60 percent of the Syrian population are now food insecure", the World Food Programme said, based on results...

The notecards poking from bouquets rushing out of a Chicago florist all carry similar messages: “looking forward to celebrating in person.” “The notes aren’t sad,” said Kate Prince, a co-owner of Flora Chicago on the city’s North Side. “They’re hopeful.” On this Valentine’s Day,...

Opposition to Myanmar's new military regime intensified on Saturday as spontaneous neighbourhood watch groups mobilised to thwart arrests of anti-coup activists and the UN demanded the release of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The army takeover that brought a decade-old democracy to an end...

Travelers arriving in Oman will be allowed to book any hotel for their seven-day compulsory quarantine, local daily Times of Oman reported on Saturday.   “Following the decision of the Supreme Committee to impose compulsory institutional quarantine for all arrivals to Oman at...

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani warned Saturday of a COVID-19 “fourth wave” as cases rise in certain areas of the Middle Eastern country hardest hit by the pandemic. “This is a warning for all of us,” Rouhani said in televised remarks. He said some cities in the southwestern province of...

Libya’s eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar has offered his backing for a peace process that seeks to end a decade of chaos, after meeting the head of a new transitional presidential council. The military commander met with Mohammed Younes Menfi, a former diplomat who also comes from eastern...

Dozens of Tunisian youths on Friday blocked roads in the long-marginalized southern Tataouine region in anger over unkept government promises to provide work and investment. In November last year, the administration of Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi pledged to create hundreds of jobs and a...

UN Special Envoy for Libya spoken with actors in the war-torn country Friday and thanked them “for their active participation in the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum.”  UN's Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a statement that in the past two days, Jan Kubis spoke with President...

A Palestinian man was killed and another two injured Friday morning after being rammed by an Israeli settler's car, according to an official cited by local media.  The Palestinian Wafa news agency confirmed that the 52-year-old Belal Bauatneh from the town of Al-Berih was killed, with...

A terrorist who recently surrendered to Turkish security forces accounted for heinous attacks of the PKK terror group. One of the many terrorists surrendered through persuasion efforts by the gendarmerie and police teams in coordination with the Interior Ministry, identified by the initials...