Doha, Qatar: Leading experts convened in Qatar as Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) College of Public Policy (CPP) hosted the Annual Association for Middle Eastern Public Policy and Administration (AMEPPA 2025) conference. The two-day gathering themed ‘Governing Through Transformation: Public P»»»

Britain on Friday imposed sanctions on senior commanders of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), accusing them of involvement in mass killings, systematic sexual violence and deliberate attacks on civilians in Sudan. The UK government said Abdul Rahim Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF’s deputy commander and br»»»

A Bolivian court on Friday ordered the country's former President Luis Arce to remain detained for five months while he awaits trial on corruption charges, the latest development in a case that threatens to exacerbate Bolivia's political tensions. Arce, 62, a leader from Bolivia’s Movement Toward S»»»

Traffic is set to open around noon today on a newly completed 3-kilometre stretch of the Hemus highway, according to the Road Infrastructure Agency. The section runs from the Dermantsi substation to the temporary connection with the III-307 Lukovit–Ugarchin road at kilometre 103 of the highway and »»»

Doha, Qatar: New Zealand’s Hayden Wilde and Great Britain’s Kate Waugh were crowned T100 Triathlon World Champions after winning the Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final in Lusail yesterday. Wilde capped a phenomenal season with his sixth victory of the year, completing a perfect campaign »»»

Doha, Qatar: Multilateral cooperation is now essential to promote digital development and ensure all countries benefit from technological and artificial intelligence (AI) advancements, the Secretary-General of the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) has said. Deemah AlYahya made the remarks duri»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar Foundation’s BilAraby initiative, in partnership with BLJ Worldwide, a leading strategic communications and public relations firm, secured the Gold Award for Best Use of the Arabic Language in a Media Campaign at the MEPRA Awards 2025, held in Dubai. The MEPRA Awards are among th»»»

In the age of dinosaurs — before whales, great whites or the bus-sized megalodon — a monstrous shark prowled the waters off what's now northern Australia, among the sea monsters of the Cretaceous period. Researchers studying huge vertebrae discovered on a beach near the city of Darwin say the creat»»»

Iranian authorities detained 18 crew members of a foreign tanker seized in the Gulf of Oman on Friday that they said was carrying 6 million liters of smuggled fuel, Iranian media reported on Saturday, citing the Hormozgan province judiciary. It said those detained under the ongoing investigation in»»»

At least two people were killed in a drone attack in Russia’s southwestern Saratov region and parts of Ukraine were without power, local authorities said Saturday, as US-led peace talks on ending the war press on. The drone attack damaged a residential building and several windows were also blown o»»»

KUWAIT, Dec 13 (KUNA) -- The price of Kuwaiti oil rose by 15 cents to reach USD 60.94 per barrel (pb) on Friday, compared to USD 60.79 pb the previous day, said the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) on Saturday.In global markets, Brent crude and the West Texas Intermediate went down 16 cents and 1»»»

Abu Dhabi: The UAE Government has issued Federal Decree-Law No. (12) of 2025, amending provisions related to children of unknown parentage. The move underscores the nation’s commitment to child protection and places the best interests of the child at the centre of all decisions regarding care, cust»»»

Doha, Qatar: The events accompanying the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025 continue at Katara Cultural Village, amidst a large and diverse public turnout from various nationalities and age groups. This reflects Katara’s status as a comprehensive cultural and tourist destination, successfully blending the ex»»»

New Delhi: The Ministry of Culture (MoC) has announced the inscription of the art of ‘Sadu Weaving’ on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity for 2025, in partnership with the State of Kuwait »»»

China plans to expand exports and imports next year as part of efforts to promote "sustainable" trade, a senior economic official said on Saturday, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The trillion-dollar trade surplus posted by the world's second-largest economy is stirring tensions with Beijing's tra»»»

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye and Qatar on Friday rallied behind the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA, stressing that its role in protecting Palestinian refugees and caring for their needs is both indispe»»»

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended a welcoming ceremony for an army engineering unit that had returned home after carrying out duties in Russia, the North's KCNA news agency reported on Saturday. In a speech carried by KCNA, Kim praised officers and soldiers of the 528th Regiment of Engineers»»»

European legislation helps Bulgaria achieve a clean environment, protect natural resources and preserve biodiversity, Irina Mateeva, European policy officer at the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB), told BTA, commenting on the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive. T»»»

SEOUL (Sputnik) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said at a welcoming ceremony held this week for the Korean engineering units returning from a mission abroad that the armed forces of Western countries were no match for the Korean People's Army. "The armed villains of the West, armed with whatever »»»

On Dec. 13, 2003, a bearded and apparently disoriented Saddam Hussein, the deposed Iraqi president, was captured by U.S. troops in a small underground hideout southeast of his hometown of Tikrit, ending an eight-month manhunt. 1 of 2 | On December 13, 2003, Saddam Hussein, the deposed Iraqi preside»»»

Abu Dhabi: Skywatchers across the Arab region are set for prime viewing conditions as the Geminid meteor shower reaches its peak this weekend. The Geminids, regarded as one of the most reliable and active meteor showers of the year, occur annually around December 14. This year, the best viewing win»»»

Kolkata: Lionel Messi will unveil a 21-metre (70-foot) statue of himself in India on Saturday as he embarks on a three-day tour of the country that has sparked a fan frenzy. The iron sculpture in Kolkata, which shows Messi holding aloft the World Cup, is part of a so-called GOAT Tour that will take»»»

Israel sharply escalated its military campaign in Lebanon on Friday, carrying out air strikes north of the Litani River in southern Lebanon, including the Zahrani district about 40 km from the border, for the first time since civilian negotiations between the neighbors began two weeks ago, amid mou»»»

Thailand said Saturday it was continuing military strikes against Cambodia despite US President Donald Trump saying the countries had agreed to stop fighting after calls with him. Renewed clashes between the Southeast Asian neighbors, which stem from a long-running dispute over the colonial-era dem»»»

Discussion has intensified over plans for partial reconstruction in parts of Gaza, even as official Arab statements insist that rebuilding must begin across the entire enclave. The debate comes nearly two weeks after the postponement of the Cairo Conference on Gaza reconstruction, intended to marsh»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Division of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) recently hosted its third highly anticipated alumni-run conference on primary care. The conference is titled “Updates in Primary Care: Specialist-Led Case-Based Discussions Highlighting th»»»

Cairo is watching in fury as Sudanese army authorities in Khartoum and their peers in Moscow dust off a 2020 agreement to turn Port Sudan into Russia’s newest naval outpost on the Red Sea, right on Egypt’s southern doorstep. For Sudan’s embattled army, the rush to animate the deal is understandable»»»

Investigators have uncovered business ties between a 48-year-old Crete hotel owner and a well-known shipowner, as police probe the May attempt on the life of Giannis Lalas in Ano Liosia. The hotel owner is among eight suspects, after anti-extortion officers traced vehicle transfers between companie»»»

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 (KUNA) -- Malaysia on Saturday welcomed a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution restating Israeli occupation obligations in the occupied Palestinian territory.In a press statement, the Malaysian Foreign Ministry said that the resolution, led by a group of like-minde»»»

A long-time Dubai resident’s patience has finally paid off at the Big Ticket draw.Yahia Almasri, a Canadian expat who has lived in the UAE for 15 years, won Dh100,000 in Big Ticket’s Draw Series 281 held in Abu Dhabi. Also Read: Indian expat in Dubai wins Big Ticket prize twice in 2 days – after pi»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Qatar Cancer Society (QCS) has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Acibadem Healthcare Group in Istanbul, marking a significant step towards enhancing international collaboration and exchanging expertise in cancer awareness, prevention, and patient car»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Unesco Chair on Environmental Law and Sustainable Development at Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) College of Law hosted the ‘International Investment Promotion and Facilitation in the Context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030’ conference. Held at the Qatar Natio»»»

The Philippine coast guard said on Saturday that three Filipino fishermen had been wounded and two fishing vessels suffered "significant damage" when Chinese coast guard ships fired water cannon in a disputed South China Sea shoal. Manila's coast guard said nearly two dozen Filipino fishing boats n»»»

Doha, Qatar: The seventh edition of the Qatar International Arts Festival (QIAF) concluded yesterday, in Hall 12 at Katara Cultural Village, with a large turnout of artists, creators, and visitors. General Manager of Katara H E Prof. Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al-Sulaiti toured the exhibition halls, vi»»»

DOHA: Qatar University’s (QU) Department of Public Health at the College of Health Sciences, in partnership with the Global Implementation Society, concluded the ‘Driving Change 2025: Regional Conference on Health and Emerging Fields in Implementation Science.’ The conference brought together publi»»»

Sitting in her wheelchair, Haneen al-Mabhouh dreams of rebuilding her family, of cradling a new baby. She dreams of walking again. But with her leg gone, her life in Gaza is on hold, she says, as she waits to go abroad for further treatment. An Israeli airstrike in July 2024 smashed her home in cen»»»

SIMFEROPOL (Sputnik) - The repair campaign in 2025 at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant was necessary, among other things, to prepare for the switch of the nuclear power plant's power units to electricity generation mode, nuclear power plant spokeswoman Yevgenia Yashina told Sputnik. On Friday, th»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US special envoy Steve Witkoff will meet with Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders in Berlin this weekend to discuss the Ukraine settlement, media reported, citing sources. The sources said French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and German Chancellor»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The US Embassy in Kiev plans to purchase a $40,000 annual subscription to a cloud-based data monitoring and analysis system for the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), Sputnik has learned from a US government document. "The Embassy of the United States of America i»»»

When opposition factions in Syria came to power a year ago, one of their first acts was to dismiss all of the country’s military forces, which had been used as tools of repression and brutality for five decades under the rule of Bashar al-Assad and his family. Now, one of the biggest challenges fac»»»

Doha, Qatar: The next generation of artificial intelligence professionals will need more than technical know-how, and they must be critical thinkers who understand the social consequences of the tools they build, says a Qatar-based academic expert. By insisting on strong technical foundations, Gise»»»

The expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is at its highest level since at least 2017, when the United Nations began tracking such data, according to a report by the UN chief seen by AFP on Friday. In 2025, "plans for nearly 47,390 housing units were advanced, approved, or tend»»»

Scope Ratings has completed its latest review of Bulgaria and confirmed the country’s long-term credit rating at A- with a stable outlook, alongside short-term ratings of S-1/Stable. The agency highlights several factors that continue to support Bulgaria’s position, most notably the forthcoming ent»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar’s aviation sector posted another month of solid growth in November 2025, with new data from the Civil Aviation Authority showing increases across aircraft movements, passenger traffic, and cargo volumes, underscoring the country’s continued rise as a global transit and tourism hu»»»

US authorities on Friday unsealed the warrant for an oil tanker seized off the coast of Venezuela decried as "international piracy" by Caracas. President Donald Trump's administration has been piling pressure on Venezuela for months, with a major naval buildup in the region that has been accompanie»»»

Egypt continues to exert efforts to ease tensions and prevent a new Israeli war on Lebanon as part of an initiative kicked off by its foreign minister Badr Abdelatty during a visit to Beirut two weeks ago. Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly is scheduled to visit Beirut next week. Cairo’s Amba»»»

(News report) KUWAIT, Dec 13 (KUNA) -- Kuwait has witnessed a diplomatic outreach enabling it to expand regionally and globally by broadening strategic partnerships via a series of deals and MoUs covering diplomatic, economic, military, security, health, scientific research sectors and artificial i»»»

Dubai: The Dubai Events Security Committee (ESC) convened a high-level coordination meeting to assess operational readiness and field plans for the New Year 2026 celebrations across the emirate. The meeting was chaired by Major General Saif Muhair Al Mazrouei, Assistant Commander-in-Chief for Opera»»»

Doha, Qatar: The State of Qatar, represented by the Ministry of Social Development and Family, prepares to host the 6th Arab Ministerial Forum on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development 2025, under the slogan: “Urban sustainability... for the future of generations.” Under the patronage of Prime M»»»

Doha: The Foreign Ministers of the State of Qatar, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, the Republic of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Republic of Turkey, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Arab Republic of Egypt, reaffirm the indispensable role of the Unit»»»