Former President Barack Obama painted a unsparing portrait of American democracy on the brink if President Donald Trump wins in November, warning in a scathing, and at times emotional, address Wednesday that his successor is both unfit for office and apathetic to the nation's founding...

As Egypt flexes its muscle with threats to intervene in Libya's civil war, its President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has sought to join forces with some of the neighboring country's powerful tribes. Cairo hopes the alliances would boost its legitimacy if it were to wade into the battlefield...

Israeli tanks shelled Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip overnight in response to continued waves of incendiary balloons across the border, the army said Thursday. The continuing cross-border violence came despite the attempts of Egyptian security to end the flare-up, which has seen two...

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi will meet US President Donald Trump for the first time in Washington on Thursday, with the presence of American troops in the country at the top of his agenda. The meeting comes as attacks on American targets by pro-Iranian fighters have been on the...

Firas and Zeina survived Beirut's port explosion unscathed but still sustained severe injuries -- not in the disaster itself but in the heavy-handed crackdown on the street protests that followed. Firas Hamdan, 33, a lawyer who was filming one demonstration, was hit in the heart by a lead...

Thousands of people fled their homes in northern California on Wednesday as hundreds of fast-moving wildfires spread across the region, burning houses and leading to the death of a helicopter pilot. In Vacaville -- a city of about 100,000 people located between the state capital Sacramento...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called a rare congress of the ruling Workers' Party for January to address policy "shortcomings" and lay out a new five-year plan for the isolated nation's moribund economy. Kim made the announcement at a full meeting of the party's central committee on...

At least 45 migrants and refugees perished off Libya this week in the deadliest shipwreck there so far this year, the United Nations said Wednesday. The UN agencies for refugees and migration said in a statement that 37 survivors from Monday's shipwreck, who were rescued by fishermen, said...

American authorities Wednesday formally notified Hong Kong that the United States has withdrawn from three bilateral deals with the semi-autonomous Chinese city on extradition and taxation. The announcement follows President Donald Trump's decision to revoke Hong Kong's preferential trade...

The UN special envoy for Syria announced Wednesday that the 45-member committee charged with drafting a new constitution for the conflict-torn country will meet for the first time in nine months on Aug. 24. Geir Pedersen told the Security Council that convening the UN-facilitated,...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Wednesday not to yield to "pirates" and to continue searching for energy in disputed eastern Mediterranean waters despite EU pressure to stop. Long-held tensions in the region flared when Turkey last week sent a research vessel accompanied by...

Sudan's foreign ministry spokesman was fired Wednesday, after he made allegedly unauthorized comments indicating contact had been made with Israel regarding normalizing ties, state media said. Israel remains technically at war with Sudan, which for years supported hardline Islamist forces....

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged Wednesday that the Trump administration will continue to support Iraq as it confronts the threat posed by the Islamic State group, but he also called for the Baghdad government to redouble efforts to rein in pro-Iran militias. Pompeo said the United...

Worn down by economic crisis and traumatised by Beirut's monster blast, the Rafic Hariri murder verdict after a 15-year wait for "the truth" came as an anti-climax for despondent Lebanese. The Netherlands-based special court set up to investigate and try suspects in the 2005 assassination...

Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar has authorised a partial lifting of a months-long blockade of oil terminals to help ease power cuts, a military official loyal to him said. The reopening of oil terminals is taking place "on the instructions of... Khalifa Haftar", General Naji al-Moghrabi,...

Saudi Arabia said Wednesday it will not follow the United Arab Emirates in establishing diplomatic ties with Israel until the Jewish state has signed an internationally recognised peace accord with the Palestinians. The UAE last week became the first Gulf state to normalise relations with...

The US Treasury placed two United Arab Emirates-based companies on its sanctions blacklist Wednesday for their support of already-sanctioned Iran's Mahan Air. UAE-based Parthia Cargo and Delta Parts Supply FZC "have provided key parts and logistics services for Mahan Air," the Treasury...

Syrian regime authorities have agreed to give Russia additional land and coastal waters in order to expand its military air base at Hmeimim, a Russian government document published on Wednesday showed. The agreement, signed by representatives of the two countries on July 21 and which...

Doublet earthquakes jolted Indonesia’s Bengkulu province on Wednesday, the country's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency said. The first temblor of 6.6 magnitude was reported at 5.23 a.m. local time [2223GMT, a day earlier] with the epicenter located 169 kilometers (105 miles)...

Iran surpassed 20,000 confirmed deaths from the coronavirus Wednesday, the health ministry said - the highest death toll for any Middle East country so far in the pandemic. The announcement came as the Islamic Republic, which has been struggling with both the region's largest outbreak and...