An engineer from Germany has become the world's first wheelchair user to go into space. Michaela Benthaus, who suffered a spinal cord injury in a mountain bike accident seven years ago, had reached out to a retired space engineer online to see if her dream of being an astronaut was still possible. »»»

The US has seized an oil tanker that had recently departed from Venezuela, according to the US Department of Homeland Security. It is the second time this month that the US has seized an oil-carrying ship off the country's coast. The move comes after US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was»»»

On a winter morning in 2022 Raphael Wong and Figo Chan walked into Hong Kong's Stanley prison to meet Jimmy Lai, the media billionaire who had been arrested two years before and was awaiting trial charged with national security offences. They had all been part of the turbulent protests that had roc»»»

TOKYO — Japan unveiled a five-year goal on Saturday for business projects totalling $19 billion in Central Asia as Tokyo vies for influence in the resource-rich region.The announcement came after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hosted an inaugural summit with the leaders of five Central Asia nations »»»

WASHINGTON, United States — For a reading of Wall Street's shifting mood on the artificial intelligence investment boom, take a look at the daily fluctuations of Oracle stock, analysts say.Shares of the software giant slumped more than five per cent Wednesday following a news report of financing tr»»»

AMMAN — Arab Potash Company (APC) on Monday announced the signing of a long-term strategic supply agreement with Norway’s Yara International, one of the world’s leading fertiliser producers and distributors, aimed at strengthening APC’s presence in international markets.The agreement was signed in »»»

A U.S. military helicopter hovers over an oil tanker seized early Saturday morning in international waters near Venezuela. Photo Courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard Dec. 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. Coast Guard led another seizure of an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela on Saturday after Presi»»»

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has cast himself and other opponents of the ‘reparations loan’ scheme for Ukraine as ‘EU Ghostbusters’ in a video posted on X on Friday. In the video, released a day after he and his allies blocked the loan scheme at a Brussels summit, the veteran politician mo»»»

The US Justice Department on Friday released a tranche of files related to convicted sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein in accordance with a congressional mandate. The partial disclosure has already drawn criticism from lawmakers and victims’ advocates, who cite the wholesale redaction of some pages and »»»

AmericaFest, the first major Turning Point USA conference since the murder of its founder Charlie Kirk, took place in Phoenix on Thursday – but instead of showing unity, it exposed sharp rifts within the MAGA movement over anti-Semitism, leadership, and its post-Trump future. The first major g»»»

The United States has seized another oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, escalating pressure on Caracas just days after President Donald Trump announced a “total and complete” blockade of unilaterally sanctioned oil shipments. US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the raid on Satu»»»

MINISTER OF INTERIOR MEETS GERMAN COUNTERPART Minister of Interior and Commander of the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya) HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani met with Federal Minister of the Interior of Germany Alexander Dobrindt on Saturday. The meeting discussed ways to strengthen b»»»

PA Media/DPA London Erling Haaland scored two goals and made another as Manchester City underlined their growing Premier League title credentials with a comfortable 3-0 victory over West Ham on Saturday. The prolific Norwegian was on target after just five minutes of a one-sided encounter at the Et»»»

Continued from page 1 This builds upon the over $240 billion in economic deals secured during President Trump’s visit to Qatar in May. The PM affirmed that as Qatar charts a path to a diversified economy driven by technology, innovation, and knowledge, its deep investment partnership with the US ha»»»

QNA Jeddah Chairperson of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) and a member of the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), HE Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah, has affirmed that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the»»»

Satyendra Pathak Doha The Skills Development Centre (SDC), established in 2002 with the vision of making fine arts and performing arts accessible to all in Qatar, celebrated its 23rd anniversary with a weeklong festival titled Spectrum – 2025, starting December 1. Over more than two decades, SDC ha»»»

QNA Doha The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MECC) on Saturday organised the closing workshop for the preliminary assessment project of the Minamata Convention on Mercury in the State of Qatar. This was done in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Global»»»

DOHA: The Organizing Committee of the Fourth GCC Games (Doha 2026) revealed the official logo of the games during a special ceremony held on Saturday at the Old Doha Port. Several committee members and representatives of regional sports federations attended the ceremony. The logo broadly draws its »»»

Rome will charge a fee for most tourists who want to visit the city's popular Trevi Fountain on February 1, city officials announced. File Photo by G20/UPI | License Photo Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Most tourists visiting Rome's iconic Trevi Fountain will have to pay a modest fee starting Feb. 1, but locals »»»

Cairo: Egypt has reaffirmed its full support for Sudan during its continued ordeal, stressing its enduring commitment to protecting Sudan's unity and territorial integrity. Egypt further affirmed that it backs Sudan's national institutions and pushes back against any attempts that would undermine S»»»

The release of thousands of pages of documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's abuse has left some who were anxiously awaiting the files disappointed. The documents' release was prompted by an act of Congress that directed the US Justice Department (DOJ) to make materials related»»»

Egypt’s Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities, Sherif El-Sherbiny, visited New Sphinx City following a tour of Sheikh Zayed City to review ongoing and planned development projects spanning approximately 85,000 feddans. During his visit, El-Sherbiny chaired a meeting at the headquarte»»»

Doha: Minister of Interior and Commander of the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya) HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani met with Federal Minister of the Interior of the Federal Republic of Germany HE Alexander Dobrindt. The meeting discussed ways to strengthen bilateral security coopera»»»

The Swedish Academy said Saturday its permanent secretary, Mats Malm, is stepping down after seven years of heading the prestigious institution that awards the annual Nobel literature prize. As of June 1, 2026, Academy member Ingrid Carlberg, an author and journalist, will take over as permanent se»»»

DOHA: Minister of Interior and Commander of the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya) HE Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has met with Federal Minister of the Interior of the Federal Republic of Germany HE Alexander Dobrindt. The meeting discussed ways to strengthen bilateral security coo»»»

New York: US space technology company Blue Origin on Saturday launched a wheelchair user into space, marking a historic first. The New Shepard Mission NS-37 lifted off from Launch Site One in West Texas at 816 a.m. Central Standard Time (1416 GMT) with a six-person crew. Among them is Michaela Bent»»»

Dubai: Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced that intercity bus services to and from Sharjah and Ajman have resumed. In an Instagram post, the authority said the move will allow passengers to continue their journeys safely and smoothly through the inter-emirate public transport netw»»»

The Israeli military said on Saturday its forces had arrested a suspected ISIS militant in Syria earlier this week and taken him back to Israel. In a statement, the military said that on Wednesday "soldiers completed an operation in the area of Rafid in southern Syria to apprehend a suspected terro»»»

DOHA: Registration for the 17th Qatar International Falcons and Hunting Festival (Marmi 2026) will kick off at the Qatari Society of Al Gannas (QSA) headquarters in Katara Cultural Village on Sunday. It will continue until December 23, from 4pm to 8pm. The festival features numerous competitions, m»»»

CAIRO (Sputnik) - Russia and African countries have agreed to strengthen cooperation in the spheres of politics and security following the Second Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday. "The joint statement also contain»»»

Pope Leo XIV has summoned the world’s cardinals for two days of meetings to help him govern the church, the Vatican said Saturday, in the clearest sign yet that the new year will signal the unofficial start of his pontificate. The consistory, as such gatherings are called, will be held Jan. 7-8, im»»»

DOHA:This evening, the events organised by the Ministry of Culture to celebrate the country's National Day concluded after 11 days at the Darb Al Saai site in Umm Salal. The National Day events organising committee announced that Darb Al Saai witnessed a large public turnout, reaching approximately»»»

Ivaylo Mirchev, co-chair of Yes, Bulgaria, one of the partners in the Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) coalition, has said that if any change in this country is to happen, it will only occur when they secure an absolute majority. "Anything short of 121 MPs implies compromises and a»»»

An exclusive investigation by UK’s The Guardian has found companies hiring hundreds of Colombian fighters for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces. A one-bedroom flat off north London’s Creighton Road in Tottenham is, according to UK government records, tied to a transnational network of companies involved»»»

Former Bikram Police Station Station House Officer (SHO) Vinod Kumar in Patna has been found guilty in an internal investigation for accepting gifts during his farewell ceremony from individuals allegedly linked to sand and liquor mafia, as well as other persons with criminal backgrounds. Departmen»»»

The UAE Lottery’s Lucky Day Draw No. 251220, held on Saturday, saw three winners each take home Dh100,000 under the guaranteed Lucky Chance ID cash prize category. The winning numbers from the Days set were set were 15, 17, 24, 6, 27 and 18, while the winning number from the Months set was 8. The L»»»

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi on Saturday reiterated calls for structural changes in the UN Security Council to grant Africa a larger role in shaping global decisions. El-Sisi made the plea for a “more pluralistic” world order at a conference of the Russia-Africa partnership held in Cairo,»»»

Manila: Three people were killed and another was injured after a speeding van crashed into a motorcycle along a highway in Oriental Mindoro province in the Philippines, police said Saturday. The crash occurred on Friday afternoon in the municipality of Pola, when a van slammed into a motorcycle car»»»

Three men have been arrested for allegedly raping a woman who knocked on their hotel room door by mistake on Wednesday night. The 30-year-old nurse was on her way to meet her friend, who was staying at the same establishment, when she knocked on room 205 instead of 105. Instead of pointing out the »»»

The official visit of President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov to Japan, which took place on December 18–20, has concluded, the presidential press service reported. According to the press service, on December 18 the head of state met with Emperor of Japan Naruhito. During the meeting, issues »»»

Türkiye's MIT intelligence agency chief met Hamas' ​negotiating team head Khalil Al-Hayya on Saturday and discussed necessary measures to be taken for proceeding to the ‌second phase ‌of the ‌Gaza ⁠peace ​plan, ‌Turkish security sources said, Reuters reported. The sources, speaking on condition of »»»

A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 17 years in prison after it found them guilty of corruption over the selling of expensive gifts they were given while in office. Khan has been in prison since 2023 on multiple corruption convictions»»»

A single-member misdemeanor court in Hania, Crete, found a 54-year-old man guilty of attempted fraud after he posed as an investigator to the family of a 33-year-old doctor missing for 12 days. The court heard he had sought €5,000 plus €1,500 in expenses from his victims to allegedly locate the mis»»»

During his official visit to Japan, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov held talks with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo. According to the presidential press service, they discussed deepening bilateral cooperation in the political, economic, cultural, and humanitarian spheres, incr»»»

US President Donald Trump is ​set to be briefed by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that any expansion ‌of ‌Iran's ‌ballistic ⁠missile ​program ‌poses a threat that could necessitate swift action, NBC News reported on Saturday. Israeli ⁠officials are ‌concerned that Iran ‍is ‍reconstituti»»»

DOHA: The Qatar Meteorology Department has announced that Sunday marks the start of the Winter solstice, signalling the astronomical beginning of winter. Winter solstice marks the end of Autumn and the beginning of winter astronomically. This happens every year because of the 23.5° tilt of the Eart»»»

Twelve people, of whom six are minors, were arrested as suspected members of a criminal group selling cocaine and cannabis mainly in a private school in the northern suburbs of Athens. Police said they have captured the alleged leader of the group, aged 20, and his deputy, aged 19. Both were brough»»»

It may be getting tougher to spot conmen, especially in the digital era, but Dubai Police is quick to point out ways to be vigilant. Its most recent advice has been to be wary of people claiming to be from banks or official entities and asking for an OTP. “Remember that banks and official entities »»»

A paraplegic engineer from Germany blasted off on a dream-come-true rocket ride with five other passengers Saturday, leaving her wheelchair behind to float in space while beholding Earth from on high. Severely injured in a mountain bike accident seven years ago, Michaela Benthaus became the first w»»»

Kurdistan broadcaster Rudaw quoted the ​vice president of Iraq's state oil company SOMO as saying ‌on Saturday that ‌the ‌oil ⁠export ​deal ‌between Baghdad and Erbil is set to be renewed with ⁠out issues, Reuters reported. In September, ‌Iraq restarted ‍the ‍export of ‍oil from its Kurdish region »»»