LONDON: More than a year after Syrian rebels swept longtime ruler Bashar Assad from power, the Captagon empire that underpinned his regime has survived his fall. It has mutated into trafficking networks that stretch across a landscape of porous borders and fragmented authority. Determined to disman»»»

MAKKAH: For centuries, the Hajj pilgrimage has been a journey unlike any other, one in which the punishing demands of the road have been inseparable from the spiritual weight of the destination. The pilgrim caravans of the past paint a human and devotional canvas without parallel, faithfully chroni»»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Islamic Resistance fighters targeted at 17:25 on Wednesday 20-05-2026 a gathering of vehicles and soldiers belonging to the “Israeli” enemy»»»

Iran said on Wednesday it was examining the latest US proposal received from mediator Pakistan in talks to end the Middle East war, despite the two sides trading threats over resuming attacks. It came after US President Donald Trump told reporters that Washington was in the "final stages" of negoti»»»

1 of 5 | President Donald Trump delivers the commencement address during the United States Coast Guard Academy's graduation ceremony Wednesday in New London, Conn. Photo by Angelina Katsanis/UPI | License Photo May 20 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump delivered the commencement address Wednesday at t»»»

As part of its strategic vision for early investment in national talent, the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council (ETCC) incollaboration with the Nafis Youth Council has announced the launch of the second batch of the 'Alpha Program. ETCC has partnered with Emirates National Schools in Abu Dhabi »»»

Tunis, May 20 (TAP) - After pausing gains at the close of the previous session, the stock market turned negative again on Wednesday.The Tunindex fell 1.35% to 17,285.34 points, trimming its annual performance to +28.5%, according to the daily...»»»

GAZA/CAIRO: In a tent in southern Gaza, Najia Abu Lehia mourns not only her husband but also their failure to make the pilgrimage to Makkah, or Hajj, together before he died a year ago because of war and border closures. Before the war between Israel and Hamas erupted in 2023, at least 3,000 Gazan »»»

Located in Alkhobar’s northern district, Lofi feels less like a traditional coffee shop and more like a carefully designed creative space. From the moment you walk in, the identity is clear; retro-inspired furniture, warm ambient lighting, curated decor, and design details that avoid the repetitive»»»

Iran has jailed a former goalkeeper for the national men’s football team after he published earlier this year a post deeply critical of then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, his wife said. The Mizan news agency of the Iranian judiciary confirmed that Mohammad Rashid Mazaheri was under arrest but said h»»»

By now the world is all too familiar with the Hormuz Strait and the economic distress that the strangulation of a small-but-vital territorial zone can cause to markets the world over. Perhaps now then is a good time to take a look at the Wakhan Corridor, the narrow, protruding strip of land in nort»»»

Temperatures outside do not have to be summerlike for the temperatures inside a vehicle to quickly rise to life-threatening for a child or pet. File Photo by Anatoli Zhdanov/UPI | License Photo A 4-year-old girl died Tuesday in Los Angeles after she was found in a vehicle in a driveway, according t»»»

Dubai: Dubai Police showcased its latest smart security technologies and future policing initiatives at the International Exhibition for National Security and Resilience (ISNR 2026) in Abu Dhabi, with Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Abdulla Khalifa Al Marri highlighting the force’s focus on a»»»

PARIS: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened to impose “permits” on submarine fiber-optic cables passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Here is what you need to know about cable infrastructure in the region and how the threats could play out: What cables run through Hormuz? Major c»»»

Taif Gov. Prince Fawaz bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz received the Consul General of China in Jeddah Yang Yi in Taif on Wednesday. During the meeting, they held friendly talks and discussed various topics of common interest, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Meanwhile, Saudi Ambassador to the Netherlands »»»

Tunis, May 20 (TAP) - Secretary of State to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad Mohamed Ben Ayed held talks on Wednesday in Tunis with Director of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) Antón...»»»

JEMA: As day broke in a remote part of western Ghana, a priest, farmers and other residents combed through the forests, looking for signs of illegal gold mining.They have done this for the past year as part of a grassroots task force created to combat the mining that has poisoned rivers in one of t»»»

ANKARA: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told US President Donald Trump in a call on Wednesday he welcomed the extension of a ceasefire between the US and Iran, adding he believed contested issues between the sides could be resolved, according to the Turkish presidency. NATO member Turkiye, which n»»»

Turkiye is working with the United States and Arab mediators to secure safe passage for Hamas fighters who are holed up in tunnels in the Israel-controlled area of Gaza, a Palestinian source, a Hamas official and Turkish officials said on Monday.The fate of about 200 fighters has complicated effort»»»

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a new trade deal for the United Kingdom with six Persian Gulf countries. File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo May 20 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday announced a trade agreement with six Persian Gulf countries that he»»»

Sitting on Wednesday, the competent parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee approved further provisions of new draft Rules of Organization and Procedure of the National Assembly moved by Progressive Bulgaria. According to the approved version, the National Assembly Chair may move a change in the agenda, unl»»»

ROME: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni slammed as “unacceptable” the treatment of Gaza flotilla activists detained by Israel, after an Israeli minister posted a video of them bound and forced to kneel. Meloni called for the immediate release of any detained Italian citizens and demanded an apo»»»

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s anti-terrorism police said on Tuesday that the alleged perpetrator of last week’s mosque bombing was inspired by neo-Nazi figures and white supremacist ideologies.»»»

TAIPEI, Taiwan: Taiwan evacuated more than 3,000 people from vulnerable areas and closed schools and offices on Tuesday ahead of the arrival of tropical storm Fung-wong, which killed at least 18 people and displaced more than 1.4 million in the Philippines after making landfall there Sunday.Fung-wo»»»

TUGUEGARAO CITY: Rescuers using backhoes and chainsaws began digging the Philippines out from the devastation of Typhoon Fung-wong on Tuesday, as floodwaters receded in hundreds of villages and the storm’s death toll climbed to 18.Fung-wong, which displaced 1.4 million people, had weakened into a s»»»

Dubai: The Dh30 million UAE Lottery Lucky Day draw held on Wednesday has seen numerous players winning cash prizes, while the top jackpot remained unclaimed. In Draw No. 260520, the winning numbers for the Days section were 19, 29, 7, 20, 22, and 4, with the selected Months section number being 9. »»»

Secretary's SpeechLebanon PalestineZionist EntityRegional and International International More Video Language Ar En Fr EsSubscribe for Weekly Updates Subscribe Islamic Resistance fighters targeted at 15:20 on Wednesday 20-05-2026 a second Merkava tank at the Al-Baydar neighborhood in Haddatha town »»»

Scott Irlbeck crouched in a field of stunted wheat plants in a parched stretch of West Texas and slipped his hand into a crack wide enough to swallow it. Last autumn, Irlbeck planted a crop that barely grew because rain never came. He now hopes his insurance adjuster will declare it a total loss so»»»

FREETOWN: Nine migrants deported from the United States landed in Sierra Leone on Wednesday, the West African country said, in the latest example of the Trump administration’s widely criticized deals with African nations to take third-country deportees. Five migrants are from Ghana, two from Guinea»»»

MIAMI: Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced charges against former Cuban President Raul Castro in the 1996 downing of civilian planes operated by Miami-based exiles as the Trump administration escalated pressure on the socialist government. The indictment was related to Castro’s alleged role »»»

MEXICO CITY: With the 2026 FIFA World Cup less than a month away, thousands of passengers arriving at Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport are greeted by a chaotic construction site of buzzing drills, scattered pipes and unfinished flooring. The construction work coexists with hundreds»»»

LONDON: A UK high court judge ruled Tuesday that asylum seekers can continue to be housed in a hotel northeast of London which was the target of anti-immigration protests earlier this year.The local council in Epping had launched a legal challenge to block the use of the Bell Hotel as asylum accomm»»»

AMMAN — Chairman of Jordanian Businessmen Association (JBA) Ayman Alawneh, and Hamad Al Matrooshi, Chargé d'Affairesat the UAE Embassy in Jordan, on Wednesday discussed prospects for economic, investment and trade cooperation between the two countries.According to a JBA statement, Alawneh stressed »»»

PORT SUDAN: UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher held Tuesday what he called “constructive” talks with Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan to ensure life-saving aid reaches all corners of the war-ravaged country.Since April 2023, the war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support F»»»

BELGRADE: Hundreds protested on Tuesday against a plan to tear down a former army headquarters in the Serbian capital Belgrade to make way for a luxury hotel complex, a project linked to US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.The student-led demonstration came four days after parliame»»»

“Education reform in Egypt is no longer just a future vision or a postponed ambition, but has become a tangible reality led by strong political will and supported by a clear national strategy,” Minister of Education and Technical Education Mohamed Abdellatif said on Wednesday. Speaking at the “Secu»»»

LONDON: Bernardo Silva believes it is time for a new generation to take the lead at Manchester City. The 31-year-old City captain will leave the Etihad Stadium after nine trophy-laden years when his contract expires at the end of the season. Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Bournemouth ended City’s bid to win»»»

RIYADH: The Esports Foundation announced on Wednesday that the 2026 edition of the Esports World Cup will be held in Paris, the first time the event will take place outside Riyadh. The tournament will run from July 6 to Aug. 23 and is expected to bring together more than 2,000 players and 200 clubs»»»

KYIV: Ukraine will send reinforcements to its northern regions and step up diplomatic pressure on Belarus to counter what Kyiv believes are Russian plans to launch a new offensive north of the capital, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Zelensky said Kyiv had become aware of five scenarios Russia h»»»

SYDNEY: Australia’s highest court on Wednesday blocked Russia from building a new embassy in the nation’s capital, unanimously upholding a law that canceled its lease on national security grounds. Russia owned a lease to a plot of land that is about 300 meters (984 feet) from Parliament House in Ca»»»

KARACHI: Afghanistan’s economic recovery is buckling as nine in 10 households are forced to skip meals, sell belongings or take on debt to survive, the United Nations said on Wednesday, warning that mass returns are exacerbating the country’s worst crisis since the Taliban returned to power. A Unit»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatar Museums (QM), Media City Qatar, and SNRG on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, officially unveiled the 321 Esports Lounge Powered by Media City Qatar, a permanent, fully accessible esports development hub housed inside the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum (QOSM). The opening makes QOS»»»

The United States on Wednesday criminally indicted Cuba's former president Raul Castro as Washington called on the communist-ruled island's people to embrace a "new path." An indictment unsealed in a federal court in Florida charged the influential former president over the 1996 downing of` two civ»»»

1 of 2 | Former Rep. Barney Frank speaks in 2022 during a signing ceremony for the Respect for Marriage Act, which requires the U.S. federal government to recognizing the validity of same-sex and interracial marriages in the United States, in the Rayburn Room of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.»»»

National police agents gather confiscated files and material into a vehicle of the Spanish Central Operative Unit during a police raid at the office of former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in Madrid on Tuesday. Photo by Rodrigo Jimenez/EPA May 20 (UPI) -- Former Spanish Prime »»»

French prosecutors on Wednesday announced a probe against former prime minister Édouard Philippe, a centrist seen as one of the leading contenders to replace President Emmanuel Macron in next year's presidential race, over alleged embezzlement of public funds. Polls suggest Philippe could win »»»

The Pentagon said on Tuesday it was cutting the number of US Brigade Combat Teams stationed in Europe from four to three, returning troop levels to those seen in 2021 as Washington presses European allies to assume greater responsibility for regional defence. The move will temporarily delay the dep»»»

We condemn in the strongest terms the verbal and physical violence inflicted by an Israeli minister against the participants of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was unlawfully intercepted by Israel in international waters. The minister concerned, who is one of the key figures in the ongoing genocid»»»

RIYADH: The UK has become the first G7 nation to secure a trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council, in a deal projected to add £3.7 billion ($5 billion) annually to the British economy. According to a UK government statement, the agreement with the six-member GCC bloc is also expected to g»»»

Ottawa, Canada and Doha, Qatar: As Canada prepares to co-host the FIFA World Cup 2026, Qatar’s Years of Culture initiative is bringing a summer-long cultural programme to cities across Canada, featuring exhibitions, fashion, public art, film, literature, and dialogue to cities across Canada. Markin»»»