Tucked away in a little-noticed corner of the $900 billion coronavirus relief bill is an allocation of $40 million in “non-lethal stabilization aid” for Syria, with the proviso that none of it should be used to strengthen Iran and its militias, Russia or the government of Bashar Al Assad. This...

Turkish police arrested at least 11 suspects in the country's northwestern provinces as part of an investigation into the smuggling of 117 illegal migrants, a security source said on Wednesday, Reuters reports. Acting on a tip-off, security teams conducted simultaneous operations in the...

The EU on Wednesday announced that humanitarian support for refugees in Turkey will be extended until early 2022, Anadolu reports. "These programmes help over 1.8 million refugees meet their basic needs and will help over 700,000 children to continue their education," said a European...

A prominent advocate of democracy in Afghanistan who headed an election monitoring organisation was gunned down on Wednesday in a Kabul neighbourhood, drawing widespread condemnation locally and internationally. Yousuf Rasheed, executive director of the Free and Fair Elections Forum of...

The United Nations Security Council has agreed to end the UN and African Union's long-running peacekeeping mission in Darfur when its mandate ceases on December 31. The Council on Tuesday adopted resolution 2559 that closes UNAMID and hands over responsibility for maintaining peace and...

Cristiano Ronaldo and Leonardo Bonucci Wednesday apologized to Juventus fans for the "worst" performance of the season as the Italian champions' fell to their first Serie A defeat this term against lowly Fiorentina. The 'Bianconeri' played most of the match a man down after Juan Cuadrado...

A senior European diplomat told Reuters on Wednesday that a Brexit trade deal could be imminent, raising hopes that Britain and the European Union could avoid a turbulent economic rupture in just eight days. There was no confirmation from Britain that a deal was about to be struck; the two...

The head of Israel's Labor Party said Wednesday he will not seek re-election as leader of the former ruling party as the country enters its fourth election campaign in two years. The Knesset, Israel's parliament, dissolved at midnight after the government failed to pass a national budget...

With Turkish support, some 75,000 trees have been planted in an area of northern Syria Turkey cleared of terrorists, Turkish authorities said Wednesday. In October 2019 the Tal Abyad district was liberated from YPG/PKK terrorists by Operation Peace Spring, carried out by the Turkish Armed...

With less than a month before Joe Biden moves into the White House, Moscow on Wednesday accused the incoming US administration of "Russophobia" after the president-elect promised to punish Russia for a major cyber attack. Biden is expected to take a tougher stance against Russia than Donald...

Iraq's government has agreed to sign a $2.625 billion contract with South Korea's Daewoo Engineering & Construction (047040.KS) to build the first phase of a giant commodities port in the south of the country, a port manager said on Wednesday. The long-planned and repeatedly delayed...

Face masks reduce the risk of spreading large Covid-linked droplets when speaking or coughing by up to 99.9 percent, according to a lab experiment with mechanical mannequins and human subjects, researchers said Wednesday. A woman standing two metres (yards) from a coughing man without a...

Dubai launched its Covid-19 vaccination programme Wednesday with a senior citizen and a nurse among the first to be inoculated using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the government said. The UAE -- which is made up of seven emirates including the capital Abu Dhabi and Dubai -- approved the...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that international efforts to reach a peace settlement in Libya should be intensified, the RIA news agency reported. Libya descended into chaos after the NATO-backed overthrow of leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. In October, the two...

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey hopes to “turn a new page” in its ties with the United States and European Union, and that Ankara had been subjected to “double standards” by both its NATO ally Washington and the bloc. Earlier this month, Washington sanctioned Turkey...

Palestinian group Hamas on Wednesday condemned the normalization of relations between Morocco and Israel. "We condemn the signing of the normalization agreement between Morocco and the [Israeli] occupation, and we consider it a great disappointment to the Palestinian people and their...

The coronavirus pandemic is not under control in France and a new lockdown must remain an option, Karine Lacombe, the head of the infectious diseases unit at Paris’ Saint-Antoine hospital, said on Wednesday. “On the epidemiological front, the epidemic is by no means under control,” Lacombe...

Britain and the European Union have still not clinched a Brexit trade deal as serious issues remain unresolved that prevent Prime Minister Boris Johnson signing up to an accord, a British minister said on Wednesday. Just eight days before the United Kingdom casts off into the unknown by...

Oil prices dropped on Wednesday after an industry report showed an unexpected rise in U.S. crude oil inventories, and as President Donald Trump rattled markets by threatening not to sign a long-awaited U.S. COVID-19 relief bill. Brent crude futures were down 38 cents, or 0.8%, to $49.70 a...

Li Changming just purchased a new Huawei smartphone and the 70-year-old retiree is still a bit puzzled by a high-tech device that China policymakers hope will help unlock spending by millions of older Chinese. Undeterred, he's enrolled in a training session -- sort of a "mobile phones 101"...