The Polish Air Force scrambled fighter jets to intercept a Russian military reconnaissance aircraft near Polish airspace over the Baltic Sea on Thursday amid heightened tensions in Eastern Europe. Photo by Jakub Karczmarczyk/EPA Dec. 25 (UPI) -- Polish Air Force fighters intercepted a Russian milit»»»

Dubai: Oil prices barely moved in Christmas Eve trading as thin holiday volumes and mixed supply signals kept markets cautious, even as geopolitical friction rose between the United States and Venezuela. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipped three cents to trade near $58 a barrel, ending a five-day»»»

Torrential rains and stormy weather caused two deaths in Southern California on Wednesday and triggered a state of emergency and evacuations as the storm continues through Friday. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo Dec. 25 (UPI) -- Two have died as stormy weather enveloped Southern Califo»»»

Tunis, Dec 25 (TAP) - President of the Assembly of People's Representatives (ARP) Brahim Bouderbala on Thursday convened a working session with members of the Committee on General Legislation, focused on reviewing the outcomes of the Committee’s...»»»

Police arrested Greek musician Aris Mougopetros on Thursday following a complaint filed by his wife alleging a domestic threat. According to police sources, Mougopetros is being held at the Tripoli police security department. The incident occurred earlier in the day when he went to a residence wher»»»

Tunis, Dec 25 (TAP) - Speaker of the Assembly of Peoples' Representatives (ARP) Brahim Bouderbala on Wednesday and Thursday chaired two working sessions with members of the Parliamentary Cooperation Group for Asia and Australia.In his remarks,...»»»

Doha, Qatar: The FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships 2025 get underway in Doha on Friday, with Qatar hosting the elite global event until December 30. The tournament brings together the world's leading players to compete for four world titles in rapid and blitz chess across the men's and women»»»

The Christmas holiday exodus from cities is continuing, with traffic conditions showing marked improvement after widespread disruption caused by farmers’ road blockades earlier in the week. According to police, negotiations between farmers and traffic authorities helped ease congestion at several k»»»

The coldest Christmas Day in Greece occurred in 1909 (based on the Julian calendar used at the time) according to the records of the historic climate station of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), permanently stationed at the Nymphs Hill in the Thissio area that has been providing valuable in»»»

Dubai: Lieutenant General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of the General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) Dubai, has praised Dubai Airports for ensuring a smooth and efficient arrival experience for visitors, following an inspection tour on Thursday. In a statement, »»»

Doha, Qatar: As part of efforts to strengthen Gulf cooperation and exchange expertise, a delegation from the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the GCC Emergency Management Center paid a visit to a number of security entities, including the Police Academy, Ras Laffan Emer»»»

Turkiye’s flag carrier, Turkish Airlines, will transfer ownership of an Airbus A319?115J, a government-configured jet valued at $11.9 million, to the Albanian government under a bilateral grant agreement as part of efforts to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries. Accord»»»

Tunis, Dec 25 (TAP) - Tunisia’s tourism revenues reached TND 7.8 billion as of December 25, 2025, marking a 6.3% year-on-year increase, according to preliminary indicators released by the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT).This growth aligns with a...»»»

Albania’s Ombudsman has found violations of the right to privacy and medical confidentiality in the case of Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj, who is currently being held in pre-trial detention in Durrës. According to the published report, the presence of prison police officers during Veliaj’s medical exam»»»

DONETSK (Sputnik) - After forcibly mobilizing a Ukrainian man, Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC) officers told him he was being sent "straight to the slaughter," a captured conscript and former fighter of Ukraine's 25th brigade told Sputnik. "The next morning, I woke up and my military ID was re»»»

2025 has yielded some extraordinary own goals that have exposed the posturing of Western politicians and left the EU isolated, irrelevant, and alone, pursuing policies contrary to self-interest. Unwelcome stories often cling to reality, like an alien to John Hurt’s face. And just as the notorious s»»»

The jailed ex-president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has undergone a successful surgery for a double hernia, his wife Michelle says. The former leader is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after he lost the 2022 presidential election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Braz»»»

Turkish football club Fenerbahçe president Sadettin Sarar was released Thursday after giving a statement in a drug-related investigation. Sarar, who returned to Istanbul from abroad, was summoned to testify on December 20 in a preliminary probe into allegations of procuring and facilitating the use»»»

Doha, Qatar: Cultural Village Foundation 'Katara,' in cooperation with the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, has invited the public to attend the opening of the “Legacy of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022” exhibition. The exhibition will open on December 29, 2025, at 5:30 pm, at Building 45 in »»»

Damascus, Dec. 25 (SANA) First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Syria Mokhles Nazer said on Thursday that removing zeros from the new currency does not constitute a change in the Syrian pound’s purchasing power, but rather an attempt to restore it to its natural place in people’s lives and or»»»

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre (ADPHC) has launched a new Indoor Air Quality Observatory, known as HawAQM, to closely monitor air quality inside buildings across the emirate. The initiative is a key project under ADPHC’s public health strategy and aims to improve living, learning and»»»

Damascus, Dec. 25(SANA) The Central Organization of Financial Control maintained an accelerated pace of work throughout 2025, prioritizing the recovery of state and citizens’ rights, uncovering corruption cases and protecting public funds from waste, within a previously announced institutional fram»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Marko Djuric met with Russian Ambassador to Belgrade Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko on Thursday to discuss events that have marked the year 2025, as well as Serbia's energy security. Botsan-Kharchenko conveyed to Djuric Russian FM Sergey Lavrov's greetings for the upcoming New Ye»»»

Lebanon said Israeli strikes near the Syrian border and in the country's south killed three people on Thursday, as Israel said it targeted a member of Iran's elite Quds Force and a Hezbollah operative. Despite a November 2024 ceasefire that was supposed to end more than a year of hostilities betwee»»»

Los Angeles: Torrential rains unleashed flash floods and warnings of debris flow across southern California, particularly in fire-scarred areas, with further downpours forecast for Thursday as authorities declared a state of emergency in several counties. Driven by an atmospheric river known as "th»»»

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Thursday that this year’s Christmas comes amid ongoing suffering in southern Lebanon, speaking after a private meeting with Maronite Patriarch Béchara Raï. While cautiously optimistic about a potential easing of regional tensions, he emphasized that challenges pe»»»

The Prevala and Troyan mountain passes are temporarily closed due to heavy snowfall, the press centre of the Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) said here on Thursday. A total of 582 snow-clearing machines are treating road surfaces across the national road network. The roads remain passable under win»»»

BELGRADE - Serbian Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic met with Chinese Ambassador to Belgrade Li Ming on Thursday to discuss bilateral cooperation. Gasic said Serbia was exceptionally appreciative of the support provided to it by China and that the personal relationship between two leaders, President»»»

Doha, Qatar: The FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025 attracted more than 1.2 million spectators and concluded with Morocco lifting the trophy, as the tournament underlined Qatar's growing reputation as a host of major global sporting events. Held from December 1 to 18, the competition featured 16 national tea»»»

The winning ticket was sold in Arkansas. A single ticket sold in Arkansas won the $1.817 billion Powerball jackpot prize in Wednesday night's Christmas Eve drawing. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo Dec. 25 (UPI) -- A single Powerball ticket hit the $1.817 billion jackpot on Christmas Eve»»»

Tunis, Dec 25 (TAP) - Partly cloudy weather will persist over most regions on Thursday night, with local fog expected over coastal areas and Sfax towards the end of the night, according to the National Institute of Meteorology.The wind will blow...»»»

Sharjah Police’s “Aman” initiative has helped reduce criminal incidents by 29 per cent in the first half of 2025, reinforcing safety and improving the quality of life across the emirate. The initiative, led by the General Department of Comprehensive Police Centers, focuses on preventive policing in»»»

Search efforts continued Thursday in northern Greece for a 45-year-old fire service officer who has been missing since Tuesday. The man, commander of the fire brigade unit in Ano Poroia, in the Serres region, disappeared after leaving the home where he lives with his wife and children. He left behi»»»

In an unprecedented development, an armed gang active in Gaza City forced inhabitants of residential bloc to evacuate their homes under threat of arms. Field sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that identified the gang as the “Rami Halas Group”. At dawn on Thursday, its members opened fire in the air in t»»»

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday he had had "very good" talks with US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, focused on ending the "brutal Russian war". "We discussed certain substantive details of the ongoing work," he said in a post on social media. "»»»

Mogadishu: Somalians voted on Thursday in the Mogadishu region's first direct local election in nearly 60 years, despite security concerns and a boycott by opposition leaders. The election is seen as a test ahead of the 2026 presidential ballot, in a country struggling to emerge from decades of con»»»

BELGRADE - Serbia's EXPO 2027 Commissioner Jagoda Lazarevic, who is also minister of internal and external trade, EXPO 2027 Director Danilo Jerinic and Iranian EXPO 2027 Section Commissioner Sodaif Beikzadeh signed on Thursday in Belgrade a contract on Iran's participation in the specialised expo. »»»

Doha: The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index closed on Thursday Lower by 36.39 points, or 0.34 percent, to reach 10,801.22 points. During the session, a total of 60,886,156 shares were traded, with a value of QR 156,597,584.724, through 6,526 transactions across all sectors. The session saw the share»»»

DOHA: The Doha Equestrian Tour Organising Committee has announced that tickets are now on sale for the H H The Father Amir Cup, with the opening leg set to take place at the Longines Arena at Al Shaqab from January 2 to 4. The prestigious event will bring together more than 240 elite riders competi»»»

The bodies of two members of the Iowa National Guard who were killed in an ambush in Syria earlier this month arrived home on Wednesday afternoon. Photo courtesy Gov. Kim Reynolds/X Dec. 25 (UPI) -- The remains of two Iowa National Guard soldiers killed in an ambush in Syria arrived at the Iowa Nat»»»

Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Police have reported five cases of suffocation linked to the use of charcoal and firewood for indoor heating, urging residents to follow safety guidelines during the winter season. The incidents were highlighted as part of the ‘Safe and Enjoyable’ winter campaign, launched join»»»

Syrian authorities on Thursday said forces killed a senior leader in the ISIS group and arrested another operative in fresh operations near capital Damascus in coordination with the US-led coalition. Syrian security and intelligence forces, working in coordination with the international coalition, »»»

As Bulgaria prepares to adopt the euro from January 1, 2026, the Ministry of Interior (MI) advises citizens to use only official currency exchange points, such as banks or post offices. During the first six months following the currency changeover, these exchanges will be free of charge. To ensure »»»

Israeli security forces announced on Thursday the arrest of five Israeli settlers over their alleged involvement in an attack on a Palestinian home that injured a baby girl in the occupied West Bank. The eight-month-old infant suffered "moderate injuries to the face and head" in the late Wednesday »»»

Abu Dhabi: Hotels and restaurants with tourism licences across Abu Dhabi can now welcome pets, following changes to the emirate’s animal control regulations in public venues. The Department of Municipalities and Transport announced amendments to Chairman’s Decision No. (4) of 2018, issued under Law»»»

Attempts to secure peace in Sudan and halt the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe have continued for nearly two-and-a-half years of war. Yet a determined belief within the army and those backing it that military victory is still possible has prevailed. The result is unending destruction, displaceme»»»

A Powerball player in Arkansas won a whopping $1.817bn (£1.34bn) jackpot in a Christmas Eve drawing, making it the second-largest lottery prize ever claimed. The single winning ticket matched all six numbers - 4, 25, 31, 52, 59 and red Powerball 19 - giving the winner the option of taking a lump-su»»»

Tel Aviv: Mohammad Bakri, a Palestinian director and actor who sought to share the complexities of Palestinian identity and culture through a variety of works in both Arabic and Hebrew, has died, his family announced. He was 72. Bakri was best known for “Jenin, Jenin,” a 2003 documentary he directe»»»

Riyadh Air has announced its ‘Employment-First’ Overseas Scholarship Program, which aims to launch several scholarship tracks, starting with two specialized paths for engineers in Australia, followed by a pilot training program in the United States. The initiative falls under ‘Promising Path’, one »»»