Libya’s national oil company said Saturday it may face closure because of clashes close to its refinery in the country’s western port.  The NOC said in a statement that three bombs hit close to its oil storage tanks in the last 48 hours in the western Zawiya port. Libya’s largest...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has convened a key meeting of top ruling party officials, state media said Sunday, ahead of a year-end deadline for Washington to shift its stance on stalled nuclear talks. The plenary session, which opened on Saturday, follows widespread speculation that...

A petition to cancel Sydney's famous New Year's Eve fireworks and use the money to fight bushfires ringing the city has topped 260,000 signatures, but officials say the show will go on. Sydney is spending Aus$6.5 million ($4.5 million) on this year's fireworks display -- funds that the...

An attacker stabbed five people late on Saturday at a Hasidic rabbi's home in New York state before fleeing, a Jewish organization said, a rampage that came after days of increased tensions over anti-Semitic assaults. The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council (OJPAC) said on Twitter an...

Among 24 photos from 2019 that will “Restore Your Faith in Humanity”, U.S. Buzzfeed website has chosen a photo by Syrian activist and photographer Amer al Hawmi as one of the most expressive images of the past decade. The photo, which was published by the AFP, shows Syrian children...

  (Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian armed opposition launched a surprise attack late on Saturday on regime forces near the newly-captured town of Jarjanaz in northern Idlib province, leaving dozens killed and wounded, sources told Zaman al-Wasl. The attack followed a heavy rocket fire on...

Iran summoned Kuwait's envoy in Tehran Saturday to protest about Kuwaiti officials meeting a representative of a "terrorist group" and hosting an "anti-Iranian" meeting, Iran's foreign ministry said in a statement on its website. The ministry did not provide any more details about the group...

With France gripped by strike action crippling the transport system in a dispute over pensions reform, news emerged Saturday of the latest government concessions -- to striking ballet dancers at the Paris Opera. News of the offer added to a series of concessions made to striking workers in...

Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Beirut home of Lebanon's new prime minister on Saturday, calling for Hassan Diab's resignation less than 10 days after he was appointed. Lebanon is without a cabinet and in the grips of a deepening economic crisis after a two-month-old protest...

(Zaman Al Wasl, MEE)- The opposition Syrian Interim Government denied it would be sending any troops to Libya amid reports confirm the beginning of training and deployment.  "We categorically deny sending any of our forces and military formations to Libya, and our...

The Sudanese government and nine rebel groups Saturday signed an agreement on a roadmap towards ending the bloody conflict in the Darfur region. The deal outlines different issues the parties will need to negotiate during the latest round of talks in Juba. "We believe this is an...

Iraq’s semi-official human rights commission said Saturday at least 490 protesters have been killed in Baghdad and southern cities in nearly three months of anti-government rallies. Iraq has been roiled by protests since Oct. 1 in which demonstrators have taken to the streets to decry...

Protesters marching against the French government's planned pension reform clashed with the police in Paris Saturday as police fired tear gas to disperse some groups of demonstrators. French trade unions have spearheaded nationwide strikes since early December in an outcry over President...

Protesters broke into Iraq's southern Nassiriya oilfield Saturday and forced employees to cut off electricity from its control station, taking the field offline until further notice, a security source and two oil sources said. The oilfield produces 90,000 barrels a day (bpd) of crude....

Cyprus on Saturday criticised Turkey's twin strategy of wading deeper into Libya's civil war while also claiming energy-rich maritime territories in the Mediterranean. Tensions are on the rise between Turkey on the one hand and EU members Greece and Cyprus on the other in a conflict over...

Several hundred Turkish and Syrian protesters held an anti-Russia demonstration in Istanbul on Saturday against intensified Russian and regime bombardment in Syria's rebel bastion of Idlib. The protesters -- mostly Syrians living in Turkey -- gathered close to the Russian consulate in...

 The chief minister of India’s Uttar Pradesh state has rebuffed accusations from rights groups of police abuses during protests against a new citizenship law, crediting his tough stand with restoring calm to the streets. The northern state has seen the most violent turmoil over Prime...

Saudi Arabia signed a deal with the local unit of U.S. weapons maker Raytheon on Saturday to localize maintenance of its Patriot missile defense system, as part of efforts to boost Saudi’s defense industries and its broader economy. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman plans to diversify the...

A tense diplomatic feud between Bolivia’s conservative interim government and Mexico expanded to include Spain on Friday when a confrontation broke out as Spanish diplomats visited the Mexican ambassador’s residence in La Paz, where members of the ousted leftist government have taken refuge....

Kazakhstan observed a national day of mourning on Saturday after 12 people died when an airliner crashed shortly after takeoff and slammed into a house. Witnesses spoke of the terrified screams of passengers as the plane came down on the edge of the country's biggest city Almaty on Friday,...