U.S. President Donald Trump issued an expanded version of his travel ban on Friday that targets prospective immigrants from Nigeria and five other countries, a move that could affect thousands of people and reignite debate on whether the policy is discriminatory. Of the six countries added...

A decision by the United States to lift sanctions on one of two units of the Chinese tanker company COSCO was not a sign that the Trump administration was letting up on its “maximum pressure” against Iran, a senior U.S. official said on Saturday. The lifting of sanctions on Friday by the...

Turkey's president received in Istanbul the political chief of Hamas on Saturday. The closed-door meeting was held between Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hamas's Ismail Haniyeh at the Vahdettin Pavilion, lasting one hour and 15 minutes. Erdogan had held a phone call with his...

A Spanish charity boat with 363 rescued migrants aboard is appealing to be allowed to dock at a port so it can disembark its passengers after several days in the Mediterranean Sea. Gerard Canals, head of the Open Arms mission, on Saturday also expressed concern that food could run out. He...

Thousands of Hong Kong medical workers voted Saturday to strike as they urge the government to close its border with the mainland to contain the coronavirus epidemic that has killed 259 people. The financial hub has 13 confirmed cases of the disease as of Saturday, with 112 patients...

Former communications minister Mohammed Allawi was named prime minister-designate by rival Iraqi factions Saturday after weeks of political deadlock, three officials said. The choice comes as the country weathers troubled times including ongoing anti-government protests and the constant...

Turkish-backed Syrian rebels attacked regime-held positions northeast of Aleppo on Saturday, rebel sources and a war monitor said, opening a new front against Syrian army forces that have made significant advances in nearby Idlib over the last week. The attack was focused on territory...

The Lebanese government has received a Central Bank circular aimed at regulating relationships between banks and their customers and will study and decide on it within days, Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni told broadcaster LBCI on Saturday. Lebanese banks, seeking to prevent capital flight,...

Suspected militants killed at least 62 civilians in a series of massacres this week in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the army is waging a counter-insurgency campaign against the rebels, the government said Saturday. The upsurge in violence after a period of relative calm in...

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas Saturday announced a cut of all ties with Israel and the United States, including security cooperation, days after Washington unveiled a controversial Middle East peace plan. Abbas spoke at an Arab League meeting in Cairo called after US President Donald...

 China's Premier Li Keqiang has asked the European Union to facilitate China's urgent procurement of medical supplies from member countries, the Chinese government said on Saturday, amid the coronavirus outbreak. So far, the virus has killed more than 250 people and infected over 10,000.

Arab foreign ministers are meeting Saturday in Egypt’s capital to discuss a White House plan for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that would grant the Palestinians limited self-rule in parts of the occupied West Bank, while allowing Israel to annex all its settlements there and keep...

The U.S. special envoy leading negotiations with the Taliban was set to meet with the Afghan president Saturday, an official confirmed, in an apparent renewed push for talks on an agreement with the insurgents. Washington and the Taliban are still wrangling over a possible deal that would...

Two decades ago, President Bill Clinton addressed a nation transfixed by impeachment. He didn’t use the I-word once in a State of the Union address that ran on for 78 minutes. Now, President Donald Trump prepares to address the nation under similar circumstances, with the added pressure of...

Firefighters kept wild blazes fuelled by strong winds and soaring temperatures from reaching suburban areas of Australia's capital, Canberra, using airdrops of fire retardant to create a 2.5-kilometre long defensive line late Saturday. Three drops of the pink retardant created the line...

America's Sofia Kenin stunned two-time Major champion Garbine Muguruza to win the Australian Open in her first Grand Slam final on Saturday, becoming the youngest player to lift the trophy in 12 years. Kenin, 21, showed all her trademark aggression as she fought back from a set down to win...

A deadline set by Iraq's president for parliament to name a new premier was set to expire Saturday amid renewed pressure from the street after influential cleric Moqtada Sadr called for fresh protests. Baghdad and the mainly Shiite south have been gripped by four months of anti-government...

Apple announced on Saturday the closure of its stores, corporate offices and contact centres in mainland China until February 9 due to the new coronavirus epidemic. The virus has prompted the government extend the Lunar New Year holiday through this weekend in a bid to contain its spread,...

Israeli warplanes hit the Gaza Strip's Islamist rulers Hamas on Saturday after cross-border mortar fire by Palestinian militants, the Israeli army said. Fighter aircraft hit "Hamas terror targets in the northern Gaza Strip," an army statement said. "Among the targets were weapon storage...

Airbus, the world’s largest aircraft maker, will pay just under 1 billion euros ($1.11 billion)in a British settlement to draw a line under a three-and-a-half year criminal investigation into allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption. The deal under a three-year Deferred Prosecution...