The United States paused aid in Somalia and South Sudan on Thursday over reports of theft and government interference, declaring a "zero-tolerance policy" for the misuse of its assistance. The suspension of aid to Somalia followed the destruction of a US-funded World Food Program (WFP) warehouse in»»»

Syria's defense ministry announced a ceasefire in Aleppo on Friday after days of deadly clashes between the army and Kurdish fighters forced thousands of civilians to flee. The violence, which has killed at least 21 people, is the worst to erupt since the new authorities took power just over one ye»»»

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Cambodia’s arrest and extradition of a powerful tycoon accused of running a vast online scam network marks a rare strike against an industry that has stolen tens of billions of dollars worldwide. US and UK authorities say Chen Zhi led a transnational criminal enterprise that»»»

Chairman of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi sacked on Thursday Defense Minister and commander of the armed forces Mohsen al-Daeri, referring him to retirement, according to a presidential decree. Political and military sources said the move stemmed from Daeri's failure i»»»

A new traffic light equipped with laser illumination for a pedestrian crossing has been installed in Bishkek at the intersection of Kurmanjan Datka and Frunze Streets, the City Hall reported. According to the municipality, the traffic light was designed and manufactured by the municipal enterprise »»»

Dubai: Dubai’s Palm Monorail has temporarily suspended all services due to ongoing maintenance work, affecting travel to and from Palm Jumeirah. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The operator confirmed that the suspension is effective until further notice, with passenger»»»

Washington: President Donald Trump said Cuba is facing a severe economic crisis after US action in Venezuela cut off oil and financial support that Havana relied on for years, warning that the island has few options left. “Cuba totally relies on Venezuela for money and for oil,” Trump said in a sit»»»

Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Investigators have arrested and charged a Pennsylvania man accused of ransacking a southwest Philadelphia cemetery of human skeletal remains, authorities said Thursday. Jonathan Gerlach, 34, of Ephrata, Pa., was arrested Tuesday night at Mount Moriah Cemetery, the Delaware County Di»»»

Dubai: Chill weather marked Friday morning in the UAE, with heavy rain reported in Sharjah and Fujairah. The National Center of Meteorology (NCM) has warned that more rain is possible today, as convective clouds continue to form over northern and eastern areas. Winds are expected to be light to mod»»»

Dubai: Tamil superstar Vijay’s much-anticipated swansong, Jana Nayagan, has been the center of buzz after a brief roadblock — but fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Release cleared!The Madras High Court has ordered the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to issue a U/A certificate fo»»»

Israel strikes in Gaza on Thursday killed at least 13 people, including five children, the Hamas-run civil defence agency said, despite a ceasefire that has largely halted fighting. A drone hit a tent for displaced people in the south, killing four, while separate strikes killed others across »»»

Rescue workers searched Friday for dozens of people feared buried under a mountain of garbage that collapsed at a landfill in the central Philippines, killing at least one. Dozens of sanitation workers were buried when the towering pile of refuse toppled onto them on Thursday at Binaliw Landfill, a»»»

A moderate earthquake struck the Tajikistan-Xinjiang border region early Friday, with no immediate reports of casualties. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) recorded the quake at magnitude 5.8, occurring at a depth of 159km around 2am. The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC»»»

Dubai: Tamil superstar Vijay’s much-anticipated swansong, Jana Nayagan, has hit an unexpected roadblock — and the wait has left fans, actors, and the film industry buzzing. With release plans up in the air and speculation running wild, the latest on the superstar’s final film is one of Tamil cinema»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump said he supported the bill imposing new sanctions against Russia, but hopes he will not have to use it. "I support you. Support it. I hope we don't have to use it anyway," Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Thursday. On Wednesday, Senator Lindse»»»

Several regions accross Europe will be buffeted by severe weather ranging from "exceptionally strong winds" to snow and freezing temperatures with the arrival of Storm Goretti on Thursday. The UK, France and Germany will bear the brunt of the storm, with Britain's Met Offic»»»

Dubai: Fix, Dubai’s cult dessert chocolatier co-founded by British-Egyptian entrepreneur Sarah Hamouda, has unveiled two exciting new chocolate bars: Honey I’m Comb and Jam or Go Nuts. The new flavours are available at the brand’s temporary pop-up at the Museum of the Future from Friday, January 2,»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna vowed to hold Ukrainian officials accountable for church seizures. "This morning I received a video appeal from Orthodox Christians in Kuzmyn, Ukraine asking for protection as the local authorities move to seize their church, a church built »»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump said Washington will get billions, and possibly trillions, of dollars from selling Venezuelan oil. "We're taking billions and billions of dollars worth of oil, and it'll be hundreds of billions of dollars. It'll be trillions of dollars, but we're goi»»»

Maksat Kocherov, Director of the Department of Chemicalization, Plant Protection, and Quarantine at the Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture, and Processing Industry of Kyrgyzstan, conducted an unscheduled inspection of Ak-Tilek and Kant phytosanitary control points, located near the Kyrgyz-Kaz»»»

An earthquake occurred in Tajikistan and was felt in Kyrgyzstan, the Institute of Seismology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic reported. According to the institute, underground tremors measuring 6.5 in magnitude were recorded at 3:14 a.m. The epicenter of the earthquake was»»»

A mountain of rubbish collapsed at a landfill in the central Philippines on Thursday, killing a 22-year-old woman and leaving 38 people missing, athorities said. Rescuers pulled 12 injured sanitation workers from debris at the Binaliw Landfill in Cebu City, who were later hospitalised. Many of the »»»

Dubai: Commuters in Dubai and Sharjah are facing a dense start to the weekend this Friday morning, January 9, 2026. Real-time data from Google Maps and Waze indicate that the morning rush is particularly heavy as residents navigate the tail end of a busy week. Ongoing infrastructure projects, coupl»»»

Only death can separate my friendship with Sadyr Japarov. The head of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) of Kyrgyzstan, Kamchybek Tashiev, stated in the documentary film President, when speaking about his relationship with President Sadyr Japarov. According to him, their relationship »»»

A section of Alymbek Datka Street in Osh has been closed to traffic since 8 a.m. The City Hall reported. The closure involves the section from Aitiev Street to Asylkan. Traffic will reopen at 8 p.m. The section is closed due to irrigation infrastructure development work on the road. Residents and v»»»

Manila: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. spearheaded the grand inauguration of the Camalaniugan Bridge in Cagayan on Thursday, hailing it as a milestone that will supercharge connectivity and economic growth across Northern Luzon. Spanning the mighty Cagayan River, this 1.4-km marvel links the bustli»»»

On January 3, 2026, officers from Kurshab rural police department of Uzgen district police department, abusing their official position, illegally detained two citizens and used physical violence without drawing up the appropriate procedural documents. As a result, citizen A.B. suffered serious bodi»»»

Contacts regarding a potential security agreement between Israel and Syria were renewed this week following several prior rounds of talks. Delegations from both sides, along with senior American officials, met in Paris and agreed on their “commitment to strive toward security arrangements and stabi»»»

The muftiyat of Kyrgyzstan has called on citizens planning to perform Umrah, as well as tour companies, to consider potential risks and organize the pilgrimage responsibly. The Spiritual Directorate of Muslims of Kyrgyzstan (SDMK) noted that in recent days, sudden changes in weather conditions, fog»»»

The EU is set to pass a trade deal with South American trade bloc Mercosur after Brussels unveiled new concessions this week. HSBC has agreed to pay nearly 268 million euros to the French treasury to settle up a case over fraud on dividend tax payments. And, protest from hundreds of UK pubs over hi»»»

The UK and France are in the grip of Storm Goretti, a powerful "weather bomb" bringing intense winds, heavy rain, and thundersnow. As of January 9, 2026, the storm has started to unleashed chaos, knocking out power lines, shuttering schools, closing rail lines. rail and roads. Central Britain bears»»»

Over the past 50 years, Iran has been shaken by a series of protests. Beginning with the demonstrations that led to the founding of the Islamic Republic to now, here's a brief look at the protests and what fueled them. Also In This Package Iran: How economic protests have played out before Latest i»»»

President Lee’s sudden announcement of a visit to Japan from January 13 signals a renewed effort by Seoul and Tokyo to stabilise a relationship that has oscillated between pragmatic cooperation and deep mistrust. While officially framed as a routine diplomatic engagement, the timing – on the back o»»»

Washington’s military operation in Venezuela has reverberated far beyond Latin America, unsettling assumptions about restraint, sovereignty and the limits of international law around the world. By prioritising access to Venezuelan energy and signalling a readiness to use force against a much weaker»»»

President Lee’s sudden announcement of a visit to Japan from January 13 signals a renewed effort by Seoul and Tokyo to stabilise a relationship that has oscillated between pragmatic cooperation and deep mistrust. While officially framed as a routine diplomatic engagement, the timing – on the back o»»»

President Lee’s sudden announcement of a visit to Japan from January 13 signals a renewed effort by Seoul and Tokyo to stabilise a relationship that has oscillated between pragmatic cooperation and deep mistrust. While officially framed as a routine diplomatic engagement, the timing – on the back o»»»

President Donald Trump has intensified his administration’s retreat from global cooperation by announcing the US will withdraw from 66 international organisations, including several key institutions responsible for coordinating global climate action. »»»

President Lee’s sudden announcement of a visit to Japan from January 13 signals a renewed effort by Seoul and Tokyo to stabilise a relationship that has oscillated between pragmatic cooperation and deep mistrust. While officially framed as a routine diplomatic engagement, the timing – on the back o»»»

India’s bank credit growth strengthened in November 2025, supported by improved lending to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), a pickup in vehicle loans and a recovery in credit to non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), even as retail and parts of the services sector showed signs of mode»»»

President Donald Trump has intensified his administration’s retreat from global cooperation by announcing the US will withdraw from 66 international organisations, including several key institutions responsible for coordinating global climate action. »»»

President Lee’s sudden announcement of a visit to Japan from January 13 signals a renewed effort by Seoul and Tokyo to stabilise a relationship that has oscillated between pragmatic cooperation and deep mistrust. While officially framed as a routine diplomatic engagement, the timing – on the back o»»»

Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela's Interior Minister, has claimed that 100 people died in the US military operation that extracted Nicolás Maduro from Caracas on January 3, a figure that vastly exceeds confirmed casualty counts and appears designed to construct a martyr narrative for a regime now negoti»»»

Washington’s military operation in Venezuela has reverberated far beyond Latin America, unsettling assumptions about restraint, sovereignty and the limits of international law around the world. By prioritising access to Venezuelan energy and signalling a readiness to use force against a much weaker»»»

Venezuela's National Assembly president Jorge Rodríguez announced on January 8 the release of "a significant number" of political prisoners, both Venezuelan and foreign, in a calculated move demonstrating the interim government's willingness to meet US demands following Nicolás Maduro's ouster. »»»

Washington’s military operation in Venezuela has reverberated far beyond Latin America, unsettling assumptions about restraint, sovereignty and the limits of international law around the world. By prioritising access to Venezuelan energy and signalling a readiness to use force against a much weaker»»»

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva vetoed legislation on January 8 that would have substantially shortened the prison term of his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted of coup plotting last year. The vet»»»

Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela's Interior Minister, has claimed that 100 people died in the US military operation that extracted Nicolás Maduro from Caracas on January 3, a figure that vastly exceeds confirmed casualty counts and appears designed to construct a martyr narrative for a regime now negoti»»»

Venezuela's National Assembly president Jorge Rodríguez announced on January 8 the release of "a significant number" of political prisoners, both Venezuelan and foreign, in a calculated move demonstrating the interim government's willingness to meet US demands following Nicolás Maduro's ouster. »»»

President Donald Trump has intensified his administration’s retreat from global cooperation by announcing the US will withdraw from 66 international organisations, including several key institutions responsible for coordinating global climate action. »»»

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva vetoed legislation on January 8 that would have substantially shortened the prison term of his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted of coup plotting last year. The vet»»»