Lionel Messi still wishes to leave Barcelona after meeting new coach Ronald Koeman, according to reports in the Spanish media Friday, as all four sports newspapers dedicated their front covers to the Argentine's uncertain future. Marca, Spain's biggest selling daily, said the Argentine told...

A Lebanese judge leading investigations into Beirut's port blast issued two new arrest warrants Friday, a judicial source told AFP. "The investigating judge, Fadi Sawan, continued his investigations... and today issued two arrest warrants," the source said. According to the official...

More than 100 Ghanaians stranded in Tripoli have returned home on the first voluntary migrant repatriation flight from Libya since the coronavirus pandemic began, the UN migration agency said Friday. Most of the 118 passengers on the charter flight from the Libyan capital to Accra were male...

A rebel bastion in the Idlib region of northwest Syria has recorded its first death from the novel coronavirus, a health official said Friday. The rebel stronghold is home to some three million people, many living in close quarters in displacement camps after being forced to flee their...

The 7th round of the EU-UK negotiations on the partners’ future ended without progress, EU’s chief negotiator announced Friday. “I am frankly disappointed, concerned and surprised as well,” Michel Barnier told journalists summarizing the talks that had taken place in Brussels this week....

Russia's plan to roll-out its "Sputnik-V" COVID-19 vaccine even before full trials show how well it works is prompting concern among virus experts, who warn a partially effective shot may encourage the novel coronavirus to mutate. Viruses, including the pandemic SARS-CoV-2, are known for...

UN human rights officials met overnight with Mali's ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and other officials who have been held by mutineers since a military coup earlier this week, the UN mission there said Friday. There has been no word from Keita since Tuesday, when he dissolved...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced the discovery of a large natural gas reserves off the Black Sea coast, days after he promised "good news" that would usher in a "new era" for the energy dependent country. Erdogan said Friday that the amount of gas discovered is 320...

The historic Williams Formula One team has been bought by US-based investment firm Dorilton Capital, ending 43 years of family ownership, it was announced on Friday. Founded in 1977 by Frank Williams and Patrick Head, Williams have won nine constructors' titles and seven drivers'...

In under a week, two activists have been assassinated and three more narrowly survived murder attempts in southern Iraq, where tensions between pro-Iran groups and a Western-leaning government are claiming new victims. One of them was Riham Yaaqub, a 29-year-old athletics coach who was...

The Venice Film Festival issued virus safety guidelines on Friday, as organisers hope the oldest such event in the world can maintain its international panache while remaining infection-free. The 10-day festival that begins next month on the legendary Lido in Venice is likely to be one of...

Hezbollah's emphatic defence of the political status quo in Lebanon has exposed it since the deadly Beirut blast to levels of public contempt and anger it was once shielded from. The powerful Shiite movement remains the dominant player in Lebanon, but the special status it enjoyed and the...

Libya’s UN-supported government Friday announced a cease-fire across the country and called for demilitarizing the contested strategic city of Sirte, which is controlled by rival forces. In a separate statement, Aguila Saleh, speaker of the rival east-based House of Representatives, also...

Senior Saudi security commanders were among a string of officials sacked over graft allegations at tourism projects, state media said Friday, in the government's latest anti-corruption purge. The sacked officials include the governors of the Red Sea coastal cities of Umluj and Al-Wajh, the...

In a landmark decision, a Hong Kong court denied on Friday a bid for the release of the first person charged with inciting separatism and terrorism under a new national security law in the Chinese-ruled city. Police said Tong Ying-kit, 23, carried a sign reading “Liberate Hong Kong,...

 Saudi Arabia’s price for normalising relations with Israel is the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, a senior member of the Saudi royal family reaffirmed on Friday. Prince Turki al-Faisal was apparently responding to U.S. President Donald Trump...

Tens of thousands of displaced Californians huddled under mass evacuation orders in the midst of a heat wave and a pandemic Friday as lightning-sparked firestorms raged across tinder-dry landscapes in and around the greater San Francisco Bay area. At least six people have died in the fires,...

Oil prices held steady on Friday and were on track for a third consecutive weekly gain, pulled higher by major oil producers’ efforts to hold back output amid concerns about the pace of economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Brent crude LCOc1 futures were up 5 cents, or 0.1%, at...

Still reeling from a deadly port blast that ravaged their Beirut homes and businesses, Lebanese wearily braced themselves for a new coronavirus lockdown due to start on Friday. "What now? On top of this disaster, a coronavirus catastrophe?" said 55-year-old Roxane Moukarzel, as she waved...

Joe Biden made it official Thursday night, accepting the Democratic Party's nomination for president while calling for the country and his fellow partisans to unite.  Addressing the Democratic National Convention on its final night, Biden said President Donald Trump has "cloaked...