Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry called on Saturday for Yemen's southern factions to attend a "dialogue" in Riyadh, after clashes erupted last month. In a statement posted to social media, the Saudi ministry called for "a comprehensive conference in Riyadh to bring together all»»»

Dubai: Flight operations at Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) were disrupted early Saturday morning, with several departures and arrivals delayed by up to two hours. The delays are believed to be caused by dense early morning fog that blanketed parts of Dubai»»»

A Yemeni local authority official confirmed that the National Shield forces had taken full control of the 37th Brigade camp in al-Khasha and pushed on to the city of al-Qatn, moving toward the strategic city of Seiyun in Hadhramaut. Abdulhadi al-Tamimi, assistant undersecretary of Hadhramaut govern»»»

Civic engagement was key to a stronger democracy in Bulgaria, National Network for Children Executive Director Georgi Bogdanov told BTA on Saturday. The organization coordinated the Networks in Action project, funded under the Swiss-Bulgarian Cooperation Programme’s Civic Engagement and Transparenc»»»

A Bangladeshi expat in Al Ain is celebrating a six-figure windfall after getting lucky in Big Ticket’s weekly e-draw. Sobaraj Kha Rafiq Kha pocketed Dh100,000 in Series 282, thanks to his winning ticket number 177520. The 33-year-old, who has called the ‘Garden City’ home for the past 15 years, mis»»»

Iran's foreign minister has called Donald Trump's promise of intervention "reckless and dangerous", after the US President warned Iran's authorities against killing peaceful protesters, saying Washington "will come to their rescue". In a brief post on social media, Trump wrote: "We are locked and l»»»

As Sudan’s war dragged on and fighting engulfed the capital Khartoum, the health system collapsed almost entirely. Hospitals shut their doors one after another, until only a single facility remained in operation in the city of Omdurman. Al Nao Hospital, perched west of the city on the front line of»»»

Kyiv, Ukraine: Ukraine is hosting security advisers for crunch talks on Saturday as Kyiv insists negotiations are zeroing in on a deal, while Russia claims a deadly New Year strike torpedoed the efforts. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said around 15 countries would attend the talks, along w»»»

Rabat: Hugo Broos is hoping to lead South Africa to Cup of Nations glory in Morocco but standing in his team's way in the last 16 on Sunday are Cameroon, the country with whom he won an unlikely continental title in 2017. The showdown at the compact Al Medina Stadium in Rabat has the makings of a f»»»

Dubai: Back at work after the New Year’s celebrations? You’re not alone. One of the most searched questions in the UAE right now is: “When is the next holiday?” From long weekends to Islamic festivals, 2026 is packed with public holidays—perfect for a quick getaway, family time, or just some well-e»»»

Somaliland has rejected allegations that it agreed to allow an Israeli military presence on its territory or take in displaced Palestinians. The denial follows accusations from Somalia that the breakaway region had accepted such arrangements in return for diplomatic recognition by Israel. Last week»»»

Elon Musk’s AI platform, Grok, is racing to fix flaws in its image-editing tool after users reported that it could turn pictures of children or women into sexualised content. In a statement on X on Friday, Grok acknowledged the problem. “We’ve identified lapses in safeguards and are urgently fixing»»»

The poorest UK households have only become poorer under Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government despite its promises to boost living standards, several British outlets reported on Friday, citing recently published analytical data. Disposable income left after bills and essentials for the le»»»

VK Exhibitions and Decor Industry LLC, a leading player in the region’s fabrication and event infrastructure sector, hosted a grand year-end celebration on December 27, 2025. Held at the VK Group premises, the event brought together nearly 1,000 stakeholders, including blue-collar staff, senior man»»»

Kathmandu: A Buddha Air turboprop aircraft skidded off the runway while landing at Bhadrapur Airport in eastern Nepal on Friday night, prompting an emergency response but leaving all passengers and crew unharmed. The airline confirmed that all 51 passengers and four crew members on board Flight 901»»»

Abu Dhabi: Dense fog covered parts of Abu Dhabi and other UAE regions early Saturday, prompting authorities to warn motorists to exercise extra caution. Also Read: Weather update: UAE braces for dusty, windy conditions after stable FridayThe National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) has issued red and y»»»

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has claimed that his country will quickly expand its presence on the Baltic Sea in 2026. NATO has bolstered its footprint in the Baltic and stepped up patrols under the pretext of protecting undersea infrastructure from the alleged Russian threat. Moscow has denied»»»

Manila: The Philippines has unlocked 99-year land leases to foreign investors with Republic Act No. 12252, signed in September. It's deemed a "game-changer". For one, it creates certainty for capital-intensive projects spanning decades, thus giving investors — and jobs — more predictability. Also I»»»

Another 20 nations and entities are restricted from travel to the United States, raising the total number of nations banned to 39 as of Thursday. File Photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI | License Photo Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Travel restrictions for 20 more nations and locales took effect on Thursday in acco»»»

Dubai: Business travel across the Middle East continued to grow in 2025, and companies expect the trend to carry into 2026 as in-person meetings and regional cooperation remain central to how work gets done. Travel management firm musafir.com says spending on business travel in the region rose abou»»»

At least two people have died after a powerful earthquake hit southern and central Mexico on Friday. CBS, the BBC's news partner in America, reported that as of Friday evening local time, two people were killed and several injured. The epicentre of the 6.5 magnitude earthquake was near the popular »»»

For the Indian film industry, 2025 felt like a return to familiar ground. The year before that, women-led stories had briefly reshaped India's global cinematic image, bringing accolades and new attention. But last year, Bollywood's violent, male-driven action thrillers dominated the domestic box-of»»»

The Oscar-tipped Hamnet, starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, is a film that shows the full range of human emotions, from elation to despair. It begins with a young William Shakespeare falling in love with Agnes (the other name by which the playwright's wife, historically referred to as Anne Ha»»»

Share: Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday he had asked the interior ministry to “listen to the legitimate demands” of protesters after several days of demonstrations by shopkeepers in Tehran. Student protests also broke out on Tuesday as Iran’s embattled currency hit new lows on the»»»

President Donald Trump speaks during an event in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on December 19. He signed an executive order Friday blocking a semiconductor deal between U.S. and Chinese companies. Photo by Will Oliver/UPI | License Photo Jan. 2 (UPI) -- President Donald»»»

Share: Iranian opposition leader and son of the last Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Reza Pahlavi holds a press conference in Paris on June 23, 2025. Iran’s exiled opposition leader, Reza Pahlavi, has issued a New Year’s message to his compatriots that “the current regime has reached the end of»»»

Seven Pakistanis were tried in absentia and sentenced to life in prison on Friday for "digital terrorism" amid riots following the 2023 arrest of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. File Photo by Rahat Dar/EPA Jan. 2 (UPI) -- An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Friday sentence»»»

US President Donald Trump has promised to assist the Iranian protesters if needed, saying that Washington was ready to intervene at any moment. The Islamic Republic has been hit by the worst unrest since 2022, triggered by an economic crisis. The demonstrations began in late December when merchants»»»

US President Donald Trump on Friday took to his Truth Social platform to warn that the United States would intervene if Iran's security forces kill peaceful protesters. At least seven people, including one volunteer member of the Islamic Republic's security forces, have been killed in clashes over »»»

Who would have thought serums infused with snail mucin - the sticky substance they secrete - would become a part of skincare routines around the world? Well, it's happened - and the gooey elasticity is key, according to a viral TikTok challenge promoting the serum. It made its manufacturer, the sma»»»

Elon Musk has indicated his intention to bankroll Republican candidates in the midterm elections later this year, saying that the US will cease to exist if the Democrats reclaim power in the Congress. On Friday, Tesla and SpaceX CEO commented on a post on X by a conservative influencer, who claimed»»»

A self-proclaimed prophet in Ghana who spent months spreading fears of an imminent doomsday flood has been arrested, local police in the West African country have confirmed to several media outlets. Evans Eshun, popularly known as Ebo Noah, was detained on December, 31 after repeatedly warning that»»»

Swiss officials told a press conference on Friday that the deadly fire at a Crans-Montana ski resort bar on New Year’s Eve, which killed at least 40 people, was likely caused by sparkling flares atop Champagne bottles that came too close to the ceiling. Authorities said 113 of the 119 injured have »»»

Angelina Jolie visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing on Friday, meeting Red Crescent volunteers and aid truck drivers delivering supplies to Gaza. The Hollywood star assessed conditions for injured Palestinians and the flow of humanitarian aid, highlighting the urgent challenges at the bo»»»

Russia captured more than 5,600 sq km of Ukrainian territory in 2025, its largest advance since 2022, as Kyiv prepares to host allied security talks. As pressure on the battlefield continues to build, President Volodymyr Zelensky named Kyrylo Budanov his new top aide, proposed Mykhailo Fedorov as d»»»

A news broadcast shows the latest developments in the conflict between Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and southern separatists in Sanaa, Yemen, on Friday. Photo by Yahya Arhab/EPA Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Saudi Arabia's military struck United Arab Emirates-backed separatists in Yemen on Friday, promp»»»

Investigators are racing to establish how and why the deadly New Year's Eve fire at a bar in a Swiss ski resort spread so rapidly. Authorities on Friday said in a press conference that sparklers attached to champagne bottles that were held "too close to the ceiling" appear to have started the blaze»»»

Four of the five people who were injured in an arson attack in Dublin on New Year's Eve have been discharged from hospital. The victims caught up in the attack at a house in Creston Avenue in Finglas included three teenagers, a woman in her 20s and a woman in her 40s. The older woman sustained seri»»»

Dubai: Saudi Arabia has officially launched an ambitious $2.7 billion (Dh9.9 billion) digital infrastructure initiative with the announcement of the Hexagon Data Centre, set to be the world’s largest government data centre and a cornerstone project of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. Classified as Tier I»»»

GERB quit the governing majority after its partners went too far, including [MRF Chair and MRF – New Beginning Floor Leader Delyan] Peevski, GERB leader Boyko Borissov said in a YouTube interview on Friday. Borissov spoke to journalist Yavor Dachkov at GERB’s party headquarters in Sofia. “Self-conf»»»

Doha, Qatar,: The opening day was attended by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation (QF), who visited Al Shaqab as Tour 1 of the HH The Father Amir Prix 2026 officially commenced in Doha. Tour 1 brings together international and regional riders across CSI1, CSI2 and»»»

The driver for British boxer Anthony Joshua, who was injured, and two others who were killed in a Monday collision in Nigera was charged on Friday and is jailed until posting bond. File Photo by Rune Hellestad/UPI | License Photo Jan. 2 (UPI) -- The driver of the vehicle that crashed in Nigeria, in»»»

The BYD Sea Lion 7 is on display at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2025 at Makuhari messe in Chiba-Prefecture, Japan, in January. BYD delivered more cars in 2025 than Tesla. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Chinese electric car maker BYD surpassed Tesla in annual sales in 2025. BY»»»

The FBI worked with local law enforcement to arrest an 18-year-old accused of plotting a violent attack on a Mint Hill, N.C., grocery store and fast food restaurant. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Jan. 2 (UPI) -- The FBI foiled a terror plot to attack people at a grocery store and fa»»»

Official data show Argentines held about $254 billion outside the banking system as of September. Photo by QuinceCreative/Pixabay BUENOS AIRES, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Argentina's government has enacted the so-called Fiscal Innocence Law, which changes tax evasion thresholds and seeks to encourage declarin»»»

Senior sources in Hamas have played down what they described as an Israeli “scare tactic” over the group’s weapons, rejecting Israeli demands to disarm as a condition for moving to the second phase of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hamas possesses only light we»»»

Iran's latest bout of economic protests has ceased to be reactive spasms of discontent triggered by the newest price shock and currency collapse. They have become something rather more persistent and worrying for Tehran's authorities: the steady drumbeat of a population whose resilience has been gr»»»

Saudi Arabia's air force conducted at least seven strikes on UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council positions in Yemen's Hadramawt province, with STC forces reporting casualties amongst their ranks, according to a spokesman for the separatist group. »»»

Saudi Arabia's air force conducted at least seven strikes on UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council positions in Yemen's Hadramawt province, with STC forces reporting casualties amongst their ranks, according to a spokesman for the separatist group. »»»

Saudi Arabia's air force conducted at least seven strikes on UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council positions in Yemen's Hadramawt province, with STC forces reporting casualties amongst their ranks, according to a spokesman for the separatist group. »»»