Lisbon: Veteran Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo will lead his country into the 2026 World Cup this summer after coach Roberto Martinez named the 41-year-old in his squad on Tuesday. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star, now at Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr, is set to appear at a recor»»»

The Saudi Cabinet on Tuesday, chaired by the King Salman, said the Kingdom will never hesitate to take whatever measures are necessary to protect its security.»»»

Dubai: You can now own a home inside the grounds of Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental after Emirates Palace Company (EPCO), LEAD Development and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group unveiled a new luxury residential project in Abu Dhabi. The development, called Emirates Palace, Mandarin Oriental Mansions,»»»

Doha, May 19 (SANA) Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani discussed regional developments and efforts aimed at reducing tensions during separate phone calls Tuesday with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Jordanian Foreign Mi»»»

CANNES: Leila Marrakchi’s “Strawberries” marks the Moroccan filmmaker’s return to the Cannes Film Festival, 21 years after “Marock” premiered in the Un Certain Regard section in 2005. Marrakchi returns to the very same section with a markedly different cinematic gaze, shaped by questions of displac»»»

Dubai: Iran’s latest peace proposal to the United States appears to offer little that is new, reviving many of the same demands US President Donald Trump dismissed last week as “garbage” — even as he paused plans for renewed military strikes and signalled fresh optimism about diplomacy. The proposa»»»

London: Lebanon's Alsama Project, a refugee-led organisation that kept more than 1,100 displaced teenagers in classrooms through two rounds of conflict, has won the inaugural Global Schools Prize worth $500,000 awarded by the UAE-based Varkey Foundation. The winner was announced at the Education Wo»»»

RIYADH: A collection of 100 pieces of gold jewelry dating back to the Abbasid era has been discovered in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Qassim region, the Saudi Heritage Commission announced on Tuesday. The ancient artifacts are thought to have formed a complete adornment set, and were designed to look like flo»»»

JEDDAH: The Professional Fighters League has announced the card for its upcoming PFL MENA event on Friday, June 19, live from the King Abdullah Sports City Indoor Arena in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The card will feature tournament matchups in the featherweight and welterweight divisions alongside showc»»»

BEIJING: China awarded Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador Abdulrahman Al-Harbi the nation’s Outstanding Diplomat Medal during a ceremony held in Beijing recently. The event was attended by several ambassadors accredited to China and senior officials from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In a speech,»»»

DOHA: The Ministry of Islamic Affairs attracted significant visitor attention during its participation in the Saudi Arabia pavilion at the Doha International Book Fair. The 35th fair runs until May 23, featuring more than 515 publishers and entities from 36 countries. Visitors explored the ministry»»»

RIYADH: The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture has emphasized the importance of following health and veterinary guidelines when selecting Udhiyah to ensure meat quality and safety, prevent disease, and safeguard public health during the Hajj season. The ministry said choosing a healthy »»»

RIYADH: Surrounded by antique coins, rare documents, and vintage artifacts, a young man from Jazan is pursuing a passion for heritage that began seven years ago. What started as a hobby has grown into a small but steadily expanding project, driven by his ambition to one day establish his own museum»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia cut its US Treasury holdings by $10.8 billion to $149.6 billion in March, while the UAE reduced its portfolio by $5.8 billion to $114.1 billion, official data showed. Despite the monthly drop, the Kingdom’s portfolio remained higher than the $131.6 billion recorded a year earli»»»

Praia: Cape Verde head coach Pedro Brito on Monday named a 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as the island nation prepares for its first appearance at football's biggest tournament. "Today is a historic day for Cape Verdean football," Bubista said during the squad announcement ceremony. "It»»»

DOHA: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani held a telephone conversation with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia HH Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud. During the call, they reviewed bilater»»»

RIYADH: Abu Dhabi-based gas company ADNOC Distribution is partnering with Americana Restaurants to expand food and beverage offerings across its service station network in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. According to a press release, up to 200 quick-service restaurants representing 12 prominent g»»»

LONDON: A team of Romanian men, acting as proxies for the Iranian government, carried ​out a knife attack on a journalist working for a Persian-language media organization in London, prosecutors told a British court on Monday.Pouria Zaratifoukolaei, known as Pouria Zeraati, a British journalist of »»»

US President Donald Trump has postponed what he described as a “very major attack” on Iran, saying Gulf leaders had asked Washington to give negotiations with Tehran another “two or three days.” Trump said the strike had been scheduled for Tuesday, but that he had ordered the Pentagon to stand down»»»

Abu Dhabi: e& UAE, in collaboration with General Authority of Islamic Affairs, Endowments and Zakat (Awqaf), has launched an exclusive Hajj package for customers travelling to Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage season. The telecom operator said the initiative builds on last year’s collaboration and ai»»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has proposed cutting the minimum capital requirement for securities businesses by 60 percent to SR20 million ($5.33 million), as part of broader reforms aimed at easing market entry and modernizing regulations. The proposed amendments, released by the Capital Market Authority f»»»

Doha, Qatar: Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani held a telephone conversation with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia HH Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud. During the call, they reviewed »»»

Saudi Arabia’s airports handled 140.9 million passengers in 2025, marking another year of strong growth for the Kingdom’s aviation sector as the national aircraft fleet expanded by 33.8%, according to data released by the General Authority for Statistics. The number of passengers traveling through »»»

Iran is allegedly ready to hand over its highly enriched uranium stockpile to Russia, the Saudi news broadcaster Al Hadath has reported. The idea was floated as part of the latest peace proposal Tehran sent to the US via Pakistan, the outlet said on Monday, citing a leaked document it had obtained.»»»

Kuwait’s Municipal Council has approved the route corridor for the Kuwaiti section of a planned high-speed railway linking the country with Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, in a project aimed at strengthening regional transport connectivity. The Kuwaiti section of the railway will extend about 85 km »»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia plans to issue real estate bonds in global markets worth up to SR150 ($40 billion) by 2030, Minister of Municipalities and Housing Majid Al-Hogail said in an interview with Asharq News. Speaking on the sidelines of the World Urban Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan, Al-Hogail said the K»»»

In an unprecedented achievement for the Egyptian fintech sector, Thndr, a leading retail investment appliation platform, has secured the top spot in the Financial Times’ ranking of the fastest-growing companies in Africa for 2026. This recognition, achieved in collaboration with the global research»»»

Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s low-cost carrier flyadeal will begin scheduled flights to India for the first time, launching daily non-stop services between Riyadh and Hyderabad from July 1, 2026. Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The move marks flyadeal’s – a subsidiary of natio»»»

RIYADH: Oman’s sovereign wealth fund posted $7.8 billion in profits in 2025, as stronger public market gains and restructuring across state-owned companies boosted returns and improved the performance of its portfolio. Citing SWF Global data, Oman Investment Authority said it delivered a 14.6 perce»»»

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health has shut down five healthcare facilities and detected 130 violations during inspection campaigns carried out last month across the kingdom . The ministry said the closures affected facilities in the Riyadh, Madinah and Asir regions following field inspections of mo»»»

Tehran's latest peace proposal to the United States involves ending hostilities on all fronts including Lebanon, the exit of US forces from areas close to Iran, and reparations for destruction caused by the US-Israeli war, state media reported on Tuesday. In Tehran's first comments on the proposal,»»»

Dubai: Gold prices in Dubai edged lower on Tuesday morning as global markets reacted to signs of easing geopolitical tensions following US President Donald Trump's announcement that he had paused a planned military strike against Iran to allow negotiations to continue. In Dubai, 24K gold slipped to»»»

Asian markets were mixed Tuesday as oil prices eased on hopes of a US-Iran deal, though elevated crude levels capped investor appetite for risk. Energy markets held center stage after US President Donald Trump signaled "serious negotiations" with Tehran and called off planned strikes, boosting opti»»»

BENGALURU: Oil prices fell 2 percent on Tuesday in ​early Asian trade after US President Donald Trump said he had paused a planned attack on Iran to ‌allow for negotiations to end the war in the Middle East. Brent futures for July delivery fell $2.26, or 2 percent, to $109.84 a barrel at 06:52 a.m.»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Qatar Hajj Mission has intensified preparations for 2026 Hajj season by completing the preparation and outfitting of camps for Qatari pilgrims in Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah according to the highest organizational and technical standards, ensuring a safe, comfortable and integrated»»»

Doha, Qatar: Top Qatari cueist Ali Al-Obaidli defeated Saudi Arabia’s Ziyad Al Qabbani 3-0 in the 15-red snooker singles final to clinch the gold medal at the 4th GCC Games Doha 2026 yesterday. At the Main Hall of the Qatar Billiards & Snooker Federation, Al-Obaidli dominated Al Qabbani, winning th»»»

President Donald Trump said he “held off” on a planned Tuesday strike on Iran, citing a request from the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as negotiations to end the war grow more “serious.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said he had instructed his leadership “to be prepare»»»

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has deployed 8,000 troops, a squadron of fighter jets and an air defense system to Saudi Arabia under a mutual defense pact, ramping up military cooperation with Riyadh even as Islamabad serves as the main mediator in the Iran war. The deployment, the full scale of which is repo»»»

“We will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow,” US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social. According to Trump, the decision followed requests from Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, who asked him to»»»

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he had paused a planned attack against Iran after Tehran sent a peace proposal to Washington, and that there was now a "very good chance" of reaching a deal limiting Iran's nuclear program. After Iran sent the US a new peace proposal, Trump said he had instr»»»

US President Donald Trump on Monday claimed that he was holding off on a military strike on Iran planned for Tuesday at the request of Gulf State leaders because “serious negotiations” were under way. The president threatened that Washington was ready for a "full, large-scale assault of Iran” if an»»»

The number of worldwide executions jumped to their highest level since 1981 in 2025, pushed in part by a "staggering" increase in Iran's use of the death penalty, according to Amnesty International on Monday. The UK-based rights group said it had confirmed the executions of at least 2,707»»»

Saudi Arabia’s National Centre for Meteorology (NCM) has forecast hot to extremely hot weather, accompanied by dusty winds, in Mecca and the holy sites during the 2026 Hajj season, with temperatures expected to reach as high as 47°C. The NCM said strong surface winds could stir up dust and sand, pa»»»

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Municipalities and Housing has completed large-scale road and infrastructure upgrades in Mecca and the holy sites for the 2026 Hajj season as part of efforts to improve mobility and reduce congestion for pilgrims. The ministry said the works included the implementation of»»»

Oil prices fell sharply in early Asian trade, extending losses after recent volatility tied to disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz began to ease and tanker traffic showed tentative signs of recovery. Market data at 9:27 a.m. Tokyo time showed: WTI crude at $102.5, down $1.87 (-1.79%) Brent crud»»»

QNA Doha Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani received a phone call from Prime Minister of Pakistan Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif on Monday. Discussion during the call focused on bilateral relations and ways to support and strengthen them a»»»

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said the United States had scheduled military strikes against Iran for Tuesday but that he called them off because "serious negotiations" to end the war are under way. Writing on his Truth Social platform on Monday, Trump said leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and th»»»

LONDON: A total of 6,600 Palestinian pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia over the past weeks to perform the annual Hajj rituals in Makkah, scheduled to take place from May 24-29, the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs said on Monday. The pilgrims have traveled through Jordan from»»»

WASHINGTON: The American global affairs magazine Foreign Policy hosted on Monday Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, the secretary-general of the Muslim World League, for a discussion session focused on religious, intellectual and international issues. The event, which took place in Washington, wa»»»

BAKU: The Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen and UN-Habitat signed an agreement to implement the second phase of the adequate housing project during the 13th session of the World Urban Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Saudi reconstruction program was represented by assistant super»»»