Saudi Arabia's economy shrank 4.2 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, government data showed on Tuesday, a smaller contraction than the second quarter when the economy was reeling from coronavirus-linked lockdowns. The economy expanded by 1.2 percent on a...

Jordanians voted Tuesday in a parliamentary election overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic which has dealt a heavy blow to the Arab country's already debt-ridden economy. More than 50,000 security force personnel were on hand to ensure masks were worn inside polling stations and social...

Turkey on Tuesday marked the 82nd anniversary of the demise of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the leader of the country's war of independence and founder of the Turkish Republic.  As is customary, daily life stopped at 9.05 a.m. local time (0605GMT), sirens wailed to mark the exact moment of...

Turkey said on Tuesday that a deal to end more than a month of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh had secured important gains for its close ally Azerbaijan in the conflict with Armenia. The agreement, signed by Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, follows six weeks of heavy fighting and advances by...

Afghanistan’s insurgent Taliban on Tuesday called on the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to stick to the February agreement to withdraw U.S. troops. The United States has been pulling out troops under the deal which envisages the withdrawal to be complete by May,...

Abdelaziz al-Hassan did not want to live in an overcrowded camp after fleeing war in northwestern Syria, so instead his family pitched a tent in the ruins of a Roman temple. He, his wife and three children are among almost one million Syrians who fled their homes last winter during a...

Vietnam's inaugural Formula One Grand Prix "might not happen" next year, a source told AFP on Tuesday, as a report said it had been dropped from the 2021 calendar following the arrest of a key official. Doubts arose after Nguyen Duc Chung, who was Hanoi's mayor and a major supporter of the...

Turkey would be turned into a front line if the country was not strong in the field and at the negotiation table in Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Monday. "If we weren't that strong both at the negotiation table and on the field in Syria today, the front line would be...

The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on officials, entities and individuals it accused of providing support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as Washington continued to impose sanctions aimed at cutting off funds for Assad's government. The action, which also targeted the Syrian...

The trial of former Syrian intelligence senior officer Anwar Raslan in Germany continues with more witnesses in the queue to give their testimonies about the roles he played in the Syrian conflict. Because of his familiarity with and his in-depth investigations into the subject, “Der...

JERUSALEM (AP) — The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Monday it needs to raise $70 million by the end of the month or it will not be able to pay the full salaries of thousands of employees through the end of the year. The U.N. Relief and Works Agency, known as UNRWA, said it...

HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese consumers are expected to spend tens of billions on everything from fresh food to luxury goods during this year’s Singles’ Day online shopping festival, as the country recovers from the pandemic. The shopping festival, which is the world’s largest and falls on...

(AP) — The Trump administration threw the presidential transition into tumult, with President Donald Trump blocking government officials from cooperating with President-elect Joe Biden’s team and Attorney General William Barr authorizing the Justice Department to probe unsubstantiated...

 U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said Defense Secretary Mark Esper had been "terminated" and that Christopher Miller, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, will be acting Secretary of Defense starting immediately. "Mark Esper has been terminated," Trump said on...

Fifty years ago Charles de Gaulle, France's greatest leader since Napoleon, died suddenly in his armchair at the humble home where he had retired to live the quiet life he had always craved. French President Emmanuel Macron made the well-worn pilgrimage to the northeastern village of...

 China and Russia held off congratulating U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on Monday, with Beijing saying it would follow usual custom in its response and the Kremlin noting incumbent Donald Trump’s vow to pursue legal challenges. Democrat Biden clinched enough states to win the...

Pfizer Inc's experimental COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective based on initial trial results, the company said on Monday, a major victory in the fight against a pandemic that has killed over a million people and battered the world's economy. Experts welcomed the first successful...

The U.S. envoy to Lebanon said on Monday that Lebanese Christian politician Gebran Bassil, who has been sanctioned by the United States, had voiced willingness to sever ties with Hezbollah, challenging his assertion that he rejected the idea outright. Washington on Friday blacklisted...

The United Nations opened talks on Libya’s future in Tunisia on Monday aimed at ending nearly a decade of chaos and bloodshed by arranging elections, but obstacles remain despite progress in cementing last month’s ceasefire. Acting U.N. Libya envoy Stephanie Williams has described it as the...

US President-elect Joe Biden Monday hailed as a cause for "hope" the news that a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was 90 percent effective -- but warned of a long battle still ahead. "I congratulate the brilliant women and men who helped produce this breakthrough and to...