Several areas of Oregon and Washington state have gone in and out of flood watches as the Pacific Northwest has been pounded with rain, including the Willamette Valley, where the Willamette River, pictured, is located. File Photo by Eitenne Laurent/EPA Dec. 20 (UPI) -- A flood watch is in effect in»»»

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»»»

Colombo: Sri Lanka has entered the public phase of 5G mobile connectivity with the launch of commercial 5G services by Dialog Axiata PLC and Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel (SLT-Mobitel), the country's two major telecommunications providers. SLT-Mobitel launched the service on Friday at One Galle Face Ma»»»

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»»»

Washington,Dec. 20 (SANA) Qatar and the United States stressed the need to support efforts aimed at achieving stability in Syria and boosting its economy, in addition to continuing cooperation in combating terrorism. This came in a joint statement following the seventh strategic dialogue between th»»»

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»»»

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, pictured in 2021, and his wife have been sentenced to 17 years in prison for corruption. File Photo by Chamila Karunarathne/EPA-EFE Dec. 20 (UPI) -- The former prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, and his wife have been sentenced to 17 additional year»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Volodymyr Zelensky is contradicting himself and giving inconsistent statements when commenting on the issue of a possible presidential election in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday. "Zelensky is actively commenting [on the issue of the possible election], »»»

Doha: Doha will host the Executive Office Meeting of the Arab Weightlifting Federation (AWF) on Sunday, followed by its electoral meeting, on the margins of the Qatar Weightlifting Federation's (QWF) concomitant hosting of three international, Arab, and Asian championships until Dec. 27, 2025. The »»»

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»»»

Doha: Weather, inshore, until 6am on Sunday will be cold and scattered clouds with chance of light rain at places, hazy by late night, the Department of Meteorology said in its daily weather report. Offshore, it will be partly cloudy with chance of scattered rain at northern area thundery at times,»»»

Tunis, Dec 20 (TAP) – The weather on Saturday night will be very cloudy at times in the north, with scattered rain and locally stormy along northern coastal areas. Temporarily cloudy elsewhere, according to the National Institute of Meteorology...»»»

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»»»

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has spoken by phone with his British counterpart Yvette Cooper, an Iranian foreign ministry statement said on Saturday, in a rare case of direct contact between the two countries. The ministry said that in Friday's call the ministers "stressed the need to cont»»»

Commercial International Bank – Egypt (CIB), the largest private-sector bank in Egypt, continues to play a leading role in advancing banking capabilities across the African continent, marking the graduation of the third cohort of the East Africa Banking Credit Programme. The milestone reflects CIB’»»»

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,»»»

Tunis, Dec 20 (TAP) – The Bank for Financing Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (BFPME) announced on Saturday the launch of the implementation of its new integrated banking information system, aimed at fuding SMEs.This new information system will...»»»

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 »»»

Ankara, Dec 20 (SANA) Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler underscored the strategic importance of stability and security in Syria for Turkey’s national security, highlighting the growing coordination between Ankara and Damascus. Speaking to media representatives in Ankara on Saturday, Guler said t»»»

Abu Dhabi: The UAE on Saturday welcomed renewed calls by the United States for an immediate halt to fighting in Sudan, stressing the urgency of easing a conflict that has pushed millions into displacement and deepened one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al »»»

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 »»»

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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»»»

Two men have been arrested for possessing more than 400 kilograms of untaxed hookah tobacco with an estimated value exceeding BGN 100,000, Radostin Angelov, head of the Seventh Precinct Police Department in Sofia, said at a news briefing on Saturday. Angelov said that during a specialized police op»»»

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»»»

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»»»

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»»»

The first phase ​of the plan to confiscate weapons south of the Litani ‌River ‌will ‌end ⁠in ​a "few days", ‌Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said in a ⁠statement on Saturday, Reuters reported. A ‌US-backed ceasefire ‍agreed ‍in November ‍2024 required the disarmament of Lebanon's Iran-aligned ​»»»

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 »»»

Dubai: Northern parts of the UAE are facing heavy rainfall, leading to significant waterlogging in streets and low-lying areas. The persistent showers have also created natural waterfalls in some regions, turning wadi beds and rocky slopes into temporary cascades. Also Read: UAE: Will it rain tomor»»»

Doha, Dec 20 (SANA) The head of Syria’s Central Authority for Control and Inspection(CACI), Amer al-Ali, affirmed that combating corruption is a strategic and irreversible choice, and a fundamental basis for rebuilding the state on the principles of good governance and the rule of law in Syria. In »»»

Gaza: The death toll from the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, has risen to 70,925 in addition to 171,185 wounded. The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip stated in a statement today that 13 martyrs arrived at Gaza Strip hospitals in the past 24 hours, along with 20 wound»»»

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from Jeddah to Lahore made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, reports The Express Tribune. Also Read: PIA expands network with new international flightThe incident occurred after a technical alert was received mid-air, causing oxygen masks to deploy»»»

A passenger train smashed into a herd of elephants in India's northeast, killing seven animals on the spot, officials said Saturday. No travellers were injured in the accident in Assam state, home to more than 4,000 of the roughly 22,000 wild elephants in India. Senior Assam police official V.V. Ra»»»

Doha: Qatar National Bank (QNB) confirmed that copper is currently entering a clearly defined phase of structural transformation in global commodity markets. In its weekly commentary, QNB noted that despite cyclical volatility and macroeconomic pressures, the metal remains attractively valued in re»»»

The 2024 decision to create a separate unmanned systems branch in the Russian Armed Forces created a “backbone upon which the armed forces of all other branches and services will rely,” National Defense magazine editor-in-chief Igor Korotchenko told Sputnik, commenting on the popularity of drone op»»»

Current developments regarding the Ukraine conflict are “clearly conducive to the cessation of hostilities,” Chinese political analyst Zhou Chengyang told Sputnik. “Choosing a peaceful path and bringing the conflict to an end at the negotiating table as soon as possible is the best outcome” for Rus»»»

Holding presidential elections is possible even under martial law, Lebanese expert Asef Melhem told Sputnik, commenting on Vladimir Putin’s statement about Russia’s readiness to consider ensuring security during possible elections in Ukraine. “The Ukrainian law and constitution were bypassed under »»»

Abu Dhabi: The National Centre of Meteorology has forecast generally partly cloudy conditions across the UAE tomorrow, with low clouds expected to form over islands and parts of the coastal and western regions, alongside a chance of light rainfall. In its daily weather bulletin, the centre said tem»»»