Doha, Qatar: Qatar has unveiled a new national framework aimed at bolstering the capabilities of its government workforce, marking a significant shift toward competency-based training and continuous professional development. In its official X handle, the Civil Service and Government Development Bur»»»

The Iraqi judiciary warned on Wednesday that people involved in the war between Russia and Ukraine will face jail as it attempts to crack down on the recruitment of Iraqis joining the conflict. Faiq Zidan, the head of Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council, received on Wednesday National Security Advisor »»»

The UAE Floating Hospital in the city of Al-Arish has received the fifth batch of the Indonesian medical team, comprising a number of doctors and nurses from various specialties, to work alongside the Emirati medical staff as part of the healthcare system provided to Palestinian patients and the wo»»»

The wife of Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan is being held in conditions that could pose a serious risk to her physical and mental health, a UN expert warned Wednesday. Alice Jill Edwards, the United Nations' special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment o»»»

US President Donald Trump seized on the occasion of Christmas Eve to assail opposition Democrats, branding them "radical left scum" as he sent out holiday greetings. From his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, the Republican spent the day before Christmas spreading some yuletide cheer. He participated i»»»

Tarique Rahman, the front-runner to be the next prime minister of Bangladesh, has returned to the country after 17 years in exile ahead of landmark general elections. The 60-year-old is the figurehead of the influential Zia family and the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia. The party he leads»»»

Residents of Somalia's capital Mogadishu will vote on Thursday in municipal elections meant to pave the way for the East African country's first direct national polls in more than half a century. With the exception of votes in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland and the breakaway region of Somal»»»

Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced on Wednesday that it had seized full control of areas bordering Chad in North Darfur in western Sudan. The RSF released videos of its forces as they deployed in several towns in the regions. The Sudanese army has yet to comment on the development. In a s»»»

Doha, Qatar: Editor-in-Chief of The Peninsula and Media Advisor at Qatar Media Corporation (QMC) Prof. Khalid Mubarak Al-Shafi has said that academic partnerships have become a cornerstone in strengthening the media sector, as cooperation between national media institutions and universities plays a»»»

The US Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that more than a million additional documents potentially related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have been found. Officials said the files are being reviewed and redacted to protect victims, with release expected to take a few more week»»»

Dubai: Gold prices in Dubai ticked higher on Thursday morning, even as the global bullion rally showed signs of catching its breath after hitting fresh records. The 24‑karat category stood at Dh539.75 per gram as of 9:45 am in Dubai, up from Wednesday’s close of Dh537.25, while 22‑karat rose to Dh4»»»

Doha, Qatar: In the rapidly evolving global artificial intelligence (AI) landscape, Qatar is emerging as a regional frontrunner in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), securing the 54th position out of 195 nations in Oxford Insights’ 2025 Government AI Readiness Index. Regionally, Qatar sits in»»»

Doha: Qatar Museums is inviting the public to experience the final weeks of its exhibitions at M7, offering a last opportunity to explore a dynamic season of fashion, design, and cultural storytelling. Visitors can see FTA: Threads of Impact. Celebrating 7 Years of Fashion Trust Arabia before it cl»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar Cancer Society (QCS), in collaboration with Fine Hygienic Holding (FHH)—the leading wellness group in the Middle East and North Africa—has announced the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement to support the Society’s awareness campaigns held last November, dedicated to rais»»»

Dubai: Gold grabbed the headlines in 2025, but the bigger percentage shocks came from silver and platinum. Both metals have surged more than 150% year to date, forcing investors, jewellers, and industrial buyers to reprice what “expensive” looks like and to rethink what 2026 could bring if supply s»»»

Tegucigalpa: Nasry Asfura, a conservative businessman backed by US President Donald Trump, was declared winner of the Honduran presidential vote Wednesday, weeks after a razor-thin election marred by delays and allegations of fraud. The national electoral council CNE said the 67-year-old son of Pal»»»

Participants in an equity construction project by Alliance Kurulush Plus LLC have appealed to the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan (SCNS) regarding a multi-storey residential building in microdistrict No. 3 of Bishkek. In a collective complaint, they are asking authorities to tak»»»

HONG KONG — Most Asian stocks rose Wednesday and gold topped $4,500 for the first time as investors tracked a record on Wall Street following forecast-beating US economic growth data.Markets looked set to go into the Christmas break on a broadly positive note amid optimism for 2026, which has offse»»»

Venezuela accused Washington of “the greatest extortion" known in the country's history at the UN Security Council on Tuesday, during a meeting in which Russia and China sharply criticized the US for putting military and economic pressure on Venezuela as tensions over sanctions and a naval blockade»»»

One of the photos released from the files of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein shows US President Donald Trump with six women whose faces have been censored to protect their anonymity. Recently, however, online users shared an image that shows the women’s faces, claiming that it was the uncens»»»

US President Donald Trump confirmed the upcoming start of ground strikes against drug cartel targets in Latin America. "Now we’re going after the land," Trump said during his Christmas greetings to the military, referring to the fight against drug cartel targets. AnalysisVenezuela’s Oil Wealth: Lin»»»

Israeli settler attacks on Palestinian homes, businesses and farmland are on the rise across the West Bank. The Observers team spoke with a Palestinian olive farmer whose land is frequently targeted, and an Israeli activist who helps protect West Bank farmers from settler violence. Palestinian vill»»»

Scouts marched and crowds gathered under clear skies in Bethlehem on Wednesday as the Palestinian city celebrated its first festive Christmas in more than two years. The return of public celebrations followed a fragile truce in Gaza, after previous Christmases were subdued by the war that started i»»»

Algeria’s parliament voted unanimously on Wednesday to declare France’s 130-year colonisation of the country a crime, calling for a formal apology and reparations from Paris. The largely symbolic move comes amid a widening diplomatic rift between the two countries and underscores the enduring sensi»»»

Four Nobel laureates and several former heads of state are among the more than 400 prominent women who have signed a letter demanding the immediate release of Zahra Tabari, an Iranian engineer facing execution. The letter, organised by a London-based association, stated that Tabari faced "execution»»»

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sees no signs of nuclear powers preparing to resume nuclear testing, IAEA Director Rafael Grossi said in an interview with Sputnik. "Well, what I see is, of course, the leaders of the great powers from time to time exchange statements, and some are in r»»»

Kim Jong Un guided the construction of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) stated the submarine is a core component of the country's "nuclear war deterrent," designed to deliver a "merciless »»»

Ukraine said on Tuesday it had pulled its forces out of the hard-fought eastern town of Siversk as Russia stepped up air strikes that killed civilians, knocked out power supplies and underlined the lack of progress in diplomatic efforts to end the war ahead of Christmas. Ukraine pulled out tro»»»

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday revealed details of the latest US-backed 20-point plan to end the war in Ukraine, saying it has been sent to Moscow for feedback. Zelensky gave a point-by-point briefing to journalists in Kyiv, including details on the creation of demilitaris»»»

Christmas dinner in France makes good on a promise to dine very well, offering everything from extravagant seafood platters to sweet treats such as the traditional Yule log cake (or bûche de Noël). Here are some of the delicacies you might find at a traditional French holiday feast. »»»

US visa sanctions will not stop the EU from enforcing its rules on online platforms, the bloc’s internal market commissioner said on Wednesday, after Washington imposed visa bans on individuals linked to the Digital Services Act, the EU law governing content moderation on social media. The move und»»»

The Europeans are preparing for a possible war. But how do they plan to fight? Amid all the talk of a possible war, Nato launched its largest exercise in decades, Steadfast Defender 2024, on January 24. It involved 90,000 troops. »»»

Cool Carriers, the world’s largest  operator of specialised refrigerated cargo vessels, known as reefers, has rejected allegations broadcast by Danish TV2 linking the group to a cocaine-smuggling scheme off Denmark’s coast, insisting it had no operational control over the ships or the crew inv»»»

EU leaders meet on December 18-19  to vote on rules that would allow the seizure of billions of euros of Russian money frozen in EU accounts that will be used to back €210bn worth of Reparation Loans for Ukraine that is bound to trigger a significant retaliation by Russia if the vote succeeds.»»»

Czech industrial output increased in real terms by 1.1% year-on-year and dropped by 0.1% month-on-month. The output was slightly above the 0.8% registered in September, but remains unconvincing amid the struggling German i»»»

A deepening ideological rift between Europe and the United States is beginning to mirror the Sino-Soviet split of the 1960s, according to political commentator and IntelliNews contributor Arnaud Bertrand. Bertrand draws a »»»

The EU’s vote on the Reparation Loan needs to fail. If it passes it will kill off any chance of a peace deal being signed. The US version of the plan is well advanced and special envoy to Ukraine retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg said last week that only points remain to be agreed. The EU ve»»»

A Latvian startup has entered Nato’s innovation ecosystem for the first time. Deep Space Energy has been selected for support under the Nato Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) programme, becoming the first company from Latvia to receive backing since the initiative was la»»»

Italy has thrown its weight behind France's opposition to the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, putting at risk this week's planned signing of the long-negotiated pact between Brussels and four South American nations. Giorgia M»»»

Europe’s wildfire crisis is intensifying, with 2025 on track to be the worst year on record, following a 2024 season that was already above the 17-year average, according to a report published on December 8 by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). »»»

US President Donald Trump is in Florida today as the talks with the Ukraine delegation to stop the war continue. There is a decent chance that a deal to stop the war will be done today or tomorrow. However, that will invol»»»

EU leaders meet on December 18-19  to vote on rules that would allow the seizure of billions of euros of Russian money frozen in EU accounts that will be used to back €210bn worth of Reparation Loans for Ukraine that is bound to trigger a significant retaliation by Russia if the vote succeeds.»»»

Russian President Vladimir Putin is pulling his punches in the bombing campaign of Ukraine’s power system. The country is plagued by rolling blackouts after Russia destroyed half of its generation capacity, but Russia could turn out the lights overnight and plunge the whole county into total darkne»»»

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 it did more than redraw the map of Europe: it pulled at the frayed seam that has separated Tokyo and Moscow for decades. Since the end of WWII the two have been held in an uneasy diplomatic limbo. Cordial summits and shared ec»»»

A deepening ideological rift between Europe and the United States is beginning to mirror the Sino-Soviet split of the 1960s, according to political commentator and IntelliNews contributor Arnaud Bertrand. Bertrand draws a »»»

The EU is today (and maybe tomorrow) discussing how to formally use the frozen Russian Central Assets to fund Ukraine EU summit to formalise use of Russian frozen assets. The issue of the frozen Central Bank assets appea»»»

Russia has reoriented 87% of its trade in physical terms towards non-Western countries compared to around 40% five to six years ago, Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk stated on December 24. Overchuk, Russia's technocra»»»

Europe’s wildfire crisis is intensifying, with 2025 on track to be the worst year on record, following a 2024 season that was already above the 17-year average, according to a report published on December 8 by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). »»»

This is going to get very messy. This morning Fitch announced it was putting Euroclear, which holds most of Russia’s frozen money, on “ratings watch with negative outlook.” That is a polite way of saying the proverbial is about to hit the fan. »»»